Framed
by Jackson's-Stonewall-Brigade
Summary: As shadows of the past start to haunt the staff at Rampart General, Dr. Brackett is haunted by a dark figure on a dangerous quest for revenge and must struggle to prove his innocence in an elaborate frame-up. A sinister path is unfolding and the time is coming for certain people to make the choices that will determine their future…and the future of the ones they love. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Questions? Corrections? Flames? PM me. It's easier that way.

 **Chapter One**

Fireman/paramedic John Gage finished adjusting his snazzy tie in front of the mirror in his station locker and turned to Roy.

"How do I look?" he asked, flashing a wide grin.

Roy snorted and turned away.

"You're dressed to kill," he muttered while adjusting his own typical ugly checkered suit. Johnny frowned for a nanosecond and addressed Roy's curt reply.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. Roy made duck lips while he thought and then shrugged. "Just that," he said, trying not to smile, "Dressed to kill,"

Chet barged in from behind a row of lockers and laughed.

"Yeah," he put in, "Dressed to kill people with that god-awful neon suit. One look at it and they'll be struck dead with horror at your poor fashion choices."

Johnny raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Do you know how much I paid for this suit?"

Chet nodded. "Too much," he said bluntly. Johnny huffed and slammed his locker shut. "Dr. Brackett wears the exact same thing and you don't complain about his attire," he argued. Roy glanced over at his partner and gave him a mild look.

"That's because even on his worst day, Brackett looks his best. He can pull off that look effortlessly. You just look like a wire coat hanger that somebody decided to drape an ugly suit on."

Johnny scoffed. "So what you're saying is that I don't have any meat on my bones?"

Roy didn't hesitate. "Exactly,"

Johnny stood aghast, mouth open as he watched Roy walk out of the locker room.

"You want to see meat? I'll show you meat!" he called after Roy, following him out to the parking lot. Chet stayed in the locker room and silently cackled at his own creation. It was so darn easy to pick a fight between Gage and Roy. Gage especially.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Roy got into Johnny's Rover and buckled himself in. Johnny got into the driver's seat and buckled his seat-belt as well.

"Ugly suit," he grumbled, "I paid a good hump of cash for this."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Don't let Chet get under your skin. You look fine," he lied. Johnny looked out the rear window as he backed out of his parking space.

"Chet's like a parasite," he said absent-mindedly, "He infects one person and then it spreads."

Roy was about to argue with that logic, but he decided not to. It was too easy to get Johnny riled. As they sped out of the parking lot, Johnny pursed his lips and frowned.

"Did Brackett ever mention what this party was for?" he questioned, giving Roy a bewildered look.

"He didn't say," Roy replied, "I was just surprised Dr. Brackett was throwing a party, period."

Johnny stayed silent for a few minutes and then a Grinch-like grin spread across his face. "Ya know what I think?"

"No, but I know you'll tell me anyway," Roy sighed.

Johnny licked his lips before continuing. "I think," he started, "That Dr. Brackett and Dix are tying the knot!"

Roy blinked and then stole a look over at his paramedic partner.

Roy thought about it; it was quite possible, for the most part. There were many instances where Roy thought Dr. Brackett and Dixie were getting serious, but a falling out was always inevitable. Besides, Roy had just talked to Dixie the other day and she hadn't mentioned anything about her and Dr. Brackett "tying the knot". Well, maybe she wouldn't after all. Maybe it was a surprise party! Maybe Dixie didn't know that they were tying the knot? Wait, shouldn't things like that be talked about before a decision was made? Perhaps the doc was throwing this party out of the goodness of his heart? Roy shook his head and nixed the thought. This had to be something special; doctors didn't just throw parties because they could. Some achievement had to precede special events like this.

"So, whaddaya think?" Johnny pressed, interrupting Roy's thoughts.

Roy blinked again to bring himself back to reality.

"Could very well be," he answered, "But could be just the opposite."

Johnny narrowed his eyes.

"A break-up party?" he demanded shrilly.

Roy shook his head. "Just keep driving. We'll find out when we get there."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When Johnny and Roy arrived at the reception hall in the hospital, they discovered that everyone was already there, having a jolly good time. The two paramedics were not welcomed by any of the doctors, nurses, or off-duty firemen that were present.

"What'd we miss?" Johnny asked a nurse over the music, trying to remain confident; although he was a mite disappointed they had started without him and Roy. Of course, he knew it was stupid to expect a whole party would be postponed until the two of them arrived, but the thought was nice.

The nurse didn't even glance at Johnny, she just answered, smiling while looking ahead.

"We're waiting for Dr. Early to come!" she said excitedly.

Roy frowned. "Dr…Dr. Early?" he stammered. The nurse turned to look at Roy and nodded.

"Sure," she replied perkily, "Dr. Brackett planned this party as a surprise for Dr. Early. It was his birthday yesterday and he had to work and was a tad bit disappointed, so a few of us got together and planned this party."

Johnny frowned and slumped his shoulders slightly, feeling a bit left out and stupid for wrongly guessing this was a party for Dr. Brackett and Dixie. Roy must've known what Johnny was thinking, for he leaned over and hissed out the side of his mouth while smiling, "Looks like you were wrong, pard,"

Johnny nodded slightly.

"Sure looks that way, doesn't it?" he murmured. Roy and Johnny were brought out of their state of confusion by Dixie walking up to them with a wide grin. She was wearing a knee-length open-backed black party dress with sheer sleeves. Her hemline was low enough for Johnny, but not high enough for Roy, who always got uncomfortable when he saw Dixie in anything else but her standard crisp-white nurse uniform. He didn't know what it was, but seeing doctors and nurses outside of work was like when you were a kid and you saw your teacher outside of school. It was awkward to say the least, because Roy had found out when he was little, that his fourth-grade teacher, outside of school, smoked marijuana. He chocked his present awkwardness up to every crazy teacher he ever had.

"Hey guys," she said in her smoky-sweet voice, "Glad you could come. It wouldn't be a party without you, Roy," she said with a wink.

Johnny caught this purposeful jab and narrowed his eyes. Dixie laughed and grabbed his shoulder. "We love you too, Johnny," she chuckled. Johnny shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm the life of the party, ya know."

Dixie looked around and saw everybody having a good time, not even one of them realizing the two paramedics were there.

"Sure," she mused.

She grabbed Roy's sleeve and led him towards the center of the room, where Dr. Brackett and Dr. Morton stood, waiting for Dixie. Johnny followed, still childishly feeling left out.

"Our final guests have arrived," Dr. Brackett said smiling, arms crossed in his usual authoritative manner. He was dressed in the exact same suit that Johnny was wearing, only he filled it out better, much to Johnny's chagrin; He hated it when Roy was right. Dr. Morton wore a much more wisely thought-out gray suit with a dark red tie. It was tame, but it was safer than anything Dr. Brackett could wear. Roy looked around and took in the scene, wondering why he didn't know it was Dr. Early's birthday and this was his party. Such skimpiness on information led to disasters!

"You, uh, ya didn't tell us this was Dr. Early's party," Johnny pointed out.

Dr. Brackett raised his eyebrows in that funny way that only he can manage.

"Well, you see I haven't forgotten how Dixie's last surprise party went. She was on to you guys the second you started preparing. The way I figured it, if I told you two, Dr. Early would know right away what we were planning."

Johnny looked mildly offended. "Well that's different," he argued, "Dixie's a woman! Women always know!"

Dr. Brackett snorted in amusement. "'Sides, Joe hasn't had a real party in who knows how long. I want him to have a little fun and loosen up. He's been working a lot harder than usual lately."

Dr. Morton nodded in agreement. "We asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said nothing. Well, we're giving him nothing. Just a birthday bash."

A blonde-haired nurse ran up to Dixie and whispered something to her. Dixie nodded and then looked at Dr. Brackett.

"Kel, Debra says that Joe just pulled up," she informed him. Dr. Brackett stood alert.

"I'll go greet him. You guys get into position," he ordered. A hush washed over the crowd as everyone crouched down behind the nicely set tables. Dixie turned the music off and lowered the lights. Johnny and Roy crouched down as well, Johnny feeling very exuberant now. He hadn't surprised anybody like this since when he turned the lights off in the station bathroom while Chet had been using it. A rectangle of light showered into the enormous room as Dr. Brackett opened the door.

"-And I want your opinion," Dr. Brackett finished his rant. The doctor flicked on the light and everyone jumped up in an effort to surprise Dr. Early.

"SURPRISE!" came the collective shout.

The white-haired doctor had no reaction until he read the "Happy Birthday Joe!" banner after which reading he burst out laughing. He hit Dr. Brackett in the stomach.

"You idiot!" he cackled, "I told you I didn't want anything for my birthday!"

Dr. Brackett held his stomach briefly and stood up straight.

"Correction: this isn't anything, this is a Party," he said with a grin.

Dr. Early shook his head, still smiling and walked into the room, greeted by the party-goers, all of whom he knew.

The party raged on all night; presents were given, music was played, cake was eaten, and drinks were passed out. Johnny had indulged in about ten cocktail drinks and was now more than a little tipsy.

After the drinks, speeches were given about Dear Old Dr. Early by everyone in the crowd. Johnny's speech was a little more scatterbrained than Roy's eulogistic rant, but was sure to be remembered by everyone who went home that night.

"-And then, when I heard the news….I thought I too was going to die. Luckily, he lived," Johnny trailed off, standing on one of the tables, holding a drink while giving a speech from the heart.

"Dr. Early is the bestest doctor I've ever known and is the nicest guy too. His profeffinshum-profhan-p….expertise and knowledge are a credit to doctors everywhere and he will always be in my heart as the white-haired guy who liked my cap'n's clam-chowder."

Everyone laughed, even Dr. Early, who could tell Johnny was stoned as heck.

When it was Dr. Brackett's turn, he, like everyone else, got up on a table and held a wine glass.

"Joe Early," he started, "I'm going to be the first to say that some days you're annoying as hell, but you're a damn good doctor and you've been a privilege to know. I've never worked with any doctor who has it together as well as you do, I hope you know that."

Everyone clapped and Dr. Early rolled his eyes, although he was grateful for the heartfelt praise.

Dr. Brackett took in a deep breath and paused, putting his wine glass down.

"And on a side note…" he said, "I feel since this is a get-together amongst friends, why not make an important announcement?"

Everyone went silent and all eyes were on Dr. Brackett. Roy was tense with suspense; he thought he knew what was coming.

"Dix, could you come forward?" he asked seriously. Dixie looked surprised and handed her drink to a fireman, walking up to Dr. Brackett with a smile on her face as though this was some sort of joke.

Dr. Brackett helped Dixie up onto the table he was standing on and grabbed her hand.

"Dixie," he started, his voice very level now, "I'm going to ask you a difficult question to answer, so answer me honestly."

Dixie stood still, her eyes wide and a delicate smile on her face. Dr. Brackett slowly pulled something out of his shirt pocket and got down on one knee. Dixie's eyebrows rose as she saw what was coming.

"Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" the doctor asked, showing a ring and asking earnestly. Dixie gasped.

"Kelly!" she said loudly. She could barely contain her little-girl-like excitement as she hugged Dr. Brackett. He stood up straight and embraced her.

"Is that a yes?" he asked with a chuckle.

Dixie nodded, wiping a tear away. Everyone in the room cheered loudly while Johnny and Roy stood dumbfounded. The cheers grew louder when Dr. Brackett grabbed Dixie's face and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Screw you, Kel!" Joe shouted, laughing, "She was mine I tell ya!"

Johnny rubbed his red eyes and looked at Roy.

"Did they kiss?" he asked drunkenly. Roy snickered. "Yes Johnny," he assured his friend, "They kissed."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The next shift was eager to hear the details about the party. Chet was more interested about the nurses that had attended, but the Cap wanted to hear it "for what it was".

"I think we were all expecting it," Captain Stanley said gruffly, "None of us knew when it was going to happen, was all."

Johnny shook his head and snorted. "I can't remember a blessed thing," he mumbled.

Roy raised his eyebrows. "I have to admit, I was a little shocked. But I can safely say that neither Dixie nor Brackett were drunk. I sure hope Early wasn't offended by his party turning into an engagement announcement."

Chet walked up behind Johnny and shook his shoulder.

"You mean you can't remember anything? Not even what the nurses were wearing?" he harassed his coworker.

Johnny shook his head and plopped his hands on the kitchen table.

"Not a thing," he said bluntly. Chet cringed and stood up. "You promised me a play-by-play and all I'm getting is Roy's fairytale recapping of another reality!"

Johnny grew frustrated and looked up at his annoying coworker.

"Chet," he snapped, "Even if I could remember, I wouldn't tell ya. Those are the things you keep in your own mind, not for sharing."

Chet scoffed and walked out of the room. After he left, Marco walked in with the Fireman's Manual. He made sure Chet was still within earshot when he flicked the book open.

"Hey guys," Marco said loudly, "I figured out what the name 'Chet' means in the Name Dictionary!"

Johnny grinned. "Oh yeah?" he said out loud, "What does it mean?"

Marco continued and pretended he was actually reading an excerpt from the non-existent Name Dictionary. "It means dirty and disrespectful! A general creep!"

Chet raced into the kitchen and attacked Marco. Marco raced out into the garage, protecting himself with his manual and trying to fend off Chet.

"It was a joke, bro!" he kept repeating while Chet whacked him.

Roy shook his head and gave Johnny and disapproving look. Johnny shrugged and continued grinning. Suddenly, the phone rang. Captain Stanley got up and answered it. "Station fifty-one, Captain Stanley speaking," he said.

His brow furrowed as he listened. "I see," he muttered. "No kidding? Okay. I'll tell them. I'm sorry about that. Okay, bye."

Johnny and Roy rolled their eyes. The Cap had a way of keeping them all in suspense.

"Who was that?" Roy asked. Captain Stanley put his hands on his hips.

"Dr. Brackett. He was calling from police headquarters downtown. He's been arrested."


	2. Chapter 2

_You're still here? Thanks. Please point out any spelling errors for me. As an author, I am only human. And spellcheck is always on drugs._

 **Chapter Two**

"Doc?" Johnny gasped as he approached the cell Dr. Brackett was sitting in. He'd been stripped of his doctor's coat and looked incredibly tired. Officer Jim Reed unlocked the jail cell and let Roy and Johnny step inside.

"Ten minutes," Reed set regrettably before walking off.

The silence in the cell was unbearable and Roy couldn't stand the awkwardness.

"Aren't you going to ask me how the heck I got in here?" Dr. Brackett said, trying to smile humorously. Johnny pursed his lips and inhaled deeply.

"What did you do?" he asked. Roy winced at that question.

Brackett snapped his head up quickly and widened his eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight: I did nothing! Do you understand me? Nothing!"

Johnny was taken aback and put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, Doc. I didn't mean-"

The young doctor sighed and sat back down on the cold bench in the cell. He shook his head shamefully and rubbed his temples.

"No, I'm sorry," he confessed, "I shouldn't have taken that tone with you."

He sat back before continuing. "I'm being held on malpractice regarding a knee injury, malpractice regarding an appendectomy, assault on a patient, and suspicion of homicide."

"On four different people, I'm assuming?" Roy inquired.

Dr. Brackett nodded. "Yes. And I remember treating all those patients. The malpractice suits aren't that big of a deal. It happens to doctors all the time. I know I'm not guilty of them and if I could talk to the patients, I could prove my innocence. The biggest charges they're holding me on are the assault charge and the suspicion of homicide."

Johnny frowned and let his jaw drop.

"Homicide? What?"

Dr. Brackett raised his hands in the air and then dropped them down in exasperation.

"I don't know. Apparently, one of my heart patients, Raphael Stewart, was found dead in his hospital bed this morning. He'd been bludgeoned to death with a bedpan. My fingerprints were found all over the place and I was the doctor in charge of treatment. Incidentally, my fingerprints were also found on the murder weapon. Isn't that dandy?"

Roy and Johnny were in complete horror; how could this be?

"You didn't kill him, though?" Johnny asked nervously.

"Johnny," Dr. Brackett said, standing up, "When I became a doctor, I took an oath to do everything I could for the health and welfare of my patients. You know I have a clean record. Do I look like a murderer to you? Besides, I didn't know he'd been killed until after I was arrested. Everybody here is under the impression that I'm playing dumb."

Roy frowned. "Doc, we know you're not a killer. On the assault charge…?"

Brackett rolled his eyes. "I treated a woman awhile back for a broken left fibula. I treated her then she stayed in the hospital for a few days before she was able to leave. She claims that I raped her everyday while she was there."

Roy frowned and shook his head while Johnny continued to look shocked.

"Why are all these patients coming forward with accusations all of a sudden?" the young paramedic echoed.

Roy crossed his arms; this case was most unusual. He'd known Dr. Brackett forever it seemed. Heck, he was the one that was in charge of the paramedic program! He was a respected doctor!

Dr. Brackett sighed. "I haven't the foggiest," he admitted, "Although I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a frame-up. There's got to be somebody behind all of this. The nurses that helped me treat those patients haven't come forward to prove me innocent."

"Do you know the names of the nurses who helped you?" Johnny asked.

Dr. Brackett closed his eyes in thought for a minute. "Betsy, Sharon, Anne…and…Rose," he listed. Johnny made a mental note of their names. He was pretty sure he knew all four of the nurses.

"Betsy helped me with the appendectomy patient, Rose with the knee injury patient, Anne with the broken leg patient, and Sharon with the heart patient." Brackett continued.

Roy cocked an eyebrow. "Do you have a lawyer?" he questioned.

"Yes," Brackett replied, "He's flying in from Seattle to defend me in court."

Roy shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't worry doc," he assured, "Johnny and I will do everything we can to get to the bottom of this before your lawyer comes. We need to have some solid facts present when he arrives."

Johnny bolted his eyes wide open. "What?" he demanded, "Why don't we get a private detective for Brackett? There's this great guy named Rockford down-"

Roy interrupted his partner. "Naw," he said, "This is up to us. We know the inner-workings of the hospital and the paramedic program and…besides; we owe it to the doc to help him! If he wants to hire a private investigator, let him!"

That was a very bold move for the man Johnny knew as the calm, collected, let's-wait-till-the-cops-get-here kind of guy. He was actually suggesting that they stick their nose where it didn't belong? Johnny thought it was surprising at first, but he then nodded to himself, thinking that he himself must have had a good influence on Roy. Who knows, maybe he was learning to loosen up and not be such a stick in mud?

Dr. Brackett cringed and stood up at Roy's suggestion. "I'm still here, ya know!" he snapped.

Roy turned to him. "What do you want us to do?" he asked. A silence fell over the cell as the young doctor thought about his choices. He looked down for a few seconds and then looked Roy in the eyes; he knew that these two paramedics that stood before him were right for the job…well, Roy anyway.

"I want you and Johnny to get to the bottom of this. You guys have the perfect cover and no one will suspect you if you try to snoop. I trust you two," he said confidently. A sudden bang came on the grate to the cell.

"Hey," Officer Reed called, "Ten minutes is up!"

Roy turned towards the door and Johnny gave the doctor a reassuring pat on the back before exiting the cell.

"We'll do everything we can," he said. The door slammed shut again and Dr. Brackett was left alone in his cold cell. He huffed and lay down on the equally icy metal bench to get some shut eye.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"What's the first order of business?" Johnny asked as he got into the passenger's seat of the squad car. Roy slammed his door shut and started the engine.

"I say we go to Rampart and question the nurses that helped Dr. Brackett treat the patients," he suggested. Johnny furrowed his brow. "I don't know if they'll all be working today," he warned. Roy narrowed his eyes.

"Then we'll be paying them a visit," he mumbled determinedly. A broad grin spread over Johnny's face. "Sounds like a plan," he chuckled.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Dixie pushed Officer Reed out of the way and stormed to the holding area. "I'm seeing him whether you like it or not!" she snapped. Reed rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders. Seriously? It was bad enough he got station duty because of his sprained ankle, but along with it, he had to deal with frantic people dying to see their arrested relatives.

"You have five minutes," he growled, unlocking the door to the cell and allowing the nurse inside. Reed didn't like her attitude and lowered the time limit on visiting; that'd show her, he thought smugly.

Dixie rushed into the cell and wrapped her arms around Dr. Brackett.

"How the heck did this happen?" she demanded, hugging him. Dr. Brackett pulled back and looked her in the eyes.

"I've been framed," he hissed. Dixie's eyes went wide. "What?"

Dr. Brackett scoffed. "You think I did those horrible things? A framing is the only way I consider this even remotely possible!"

Dixie frowned. "I don't know what the charges are," she replied. Dr. Brackett shook his head. "It's probably better that you don't know," he grumbled. Dixie looked in distress and Dr. Brackett had never seen her look so helpless before.

"Kelly," she murmured, "When Vince told me that you'd been arrested, I…I- I didn't know what to do. I knew whatever it was, you didn't do it. I just knew it had to be a mistake. Am I right?"

Dr. Brackett exhaled and looked down. "It's all a mistake Dix," he assured her, "Johnny and Roy are working now to prove me innocent."

A tear slid down Dixie's cheek when she heard her fiancé had been falsely accused.

"I just don't understand why anybody would frame you!" she wept, "You've never done anything to anyone to warrant something like this."

Dr. Brackett frowned. "Come on," he said gently, "Dry your eyes. You're not usually like this."

Dixie nodded. He was right; she'd completely broken down. Her emotions had just swept over her and overwhelmed her. It was so easy to keep your feelings in at the workplace, you had to. But when she walked out of the hospital and into the police station and saw Dr. Brackett sitting there in the jail cell, she completely lost it. It was like when you were a little kid and somebody hurt your feelings on the playground; you were fine around all your friends, but when you saw your mom, you broke down crying and confided in her.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you," Dixie said softly.

Dr. Brackett put his hand behind her head and pulled her in closer. "We'll sort this out, I know it."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny and Roy entered the emergency room of Rampart General Hospital and headed straight for Rose, who was sitting at the admitting desk scanning through papers. Roy tapped the desk to get her attention and she looked up. Rose was tall, slender, and innocent looking, although Johnny knew different; he'd taken her on a date once and she turned out to be real drag. It was all business with her, no pleasure. Her green eyes saw Roy and they sparkled, but when she caught sight of Johnny, her eyes went dull.

"What can I do for you?" she asked in a nasally voice.

Roy frowned intensely before beginning, to let her know what he was about to say was serious.

"Where you on duty when Dr. Brackett treated a patient with a knee injury last Thursday?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Yes," she said curtly.

"He says you helped him treat the patient," Johnny added. Rose snorted.

"I did not. He doesn't let me help. I saw the patient come in and Dr. Brackett go into the treatment room with him, but that was it. I didn't help him out," she said flatly.

Roy screwed his nose up.

"You're lying," he growled. Rose narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "I am not," she hissed, "Even if I had helped him with the patient, I wouldn't tell you two."

"Dr. Brackett told me you were the one who helped him. As a doctor, he's not one to spread misinformation." Roy said levelly. Rose cocked an eyebrow.

"He was arrested on criminal charges this morning. If he's capable of committing a crime, I'd say he's capable of lying to you." she said briskly, turning around to put some papers in a filing drawer. Roy waited for her to finish before continuing to harass her.

"I know he was arrested. You can help prove him innocent if you just come forward and testify in court that Dr. Brackett used the correct medical procedures in treating the patient! That's all!"

Rose huffed and slammed the palms of her hands down on her desk.

"But I didn't help him treat that patient! How am I supposed to know if he fouled up or not? Every doctor fouls up once in their life and this was probably his turn!" she argued.

"You're lying through your teeth and you know it," Johnny muttered. Roy dismissed his headstrong partner and leaned over the desk towards Rose.

"Please, you're one of the only people who can clear up Dr. Brackett's name!"

Rose was silent for a few moments and Roy thought he saw a flash of hesitation cross her eyes before she looked away. "I can't help you," she murmured.

"Have fun living with yourself," Roy said dryly before walking off. Johnny gave Rose a dirty look before following his partner. They knew they wouldn't get anything else out of the stubborn nurse. One thing was for sure: this was certainly a framing. Someone had to have paid Rose to lie about her whereabouts when the accusing patient was treated. Dr. Brackett specifically remembered which nurse had helped him treat which patient.

"You think the others will have the same story?" Johnny asked.

Roy shrugged. "I dunno," he said simply, "Let's find Anne."

The two paramedics asked around to see if she was on shift that day, and to their delight, she was. As they entered the break room, they caught sight of Anne. She was casually sipping a cup of coffee and reading the latest issue of People.

Leave it to Anne to engage in mindless gossip!

Roy thought as he approached the table she was seated at. He sat across from her as Johnny went to grab himself a cup of coffee.

"Hi Anne," Roy said in the friendliest tone he could find. Anne looked at him and blinked slowly, already annoyed with him. She sure wasn't the prettiest nurse Roy had ever seen; her nose was pointed and turned upwards as though she had run into a wall, her eyes were small and beady, her face was always pinched, and her bad attitude topped it all off.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked quietly. Anne closed her magazine and crossed her arms, leaning backwards in her chair.

"You're talking," she said coldly.

Johnny finished pouring his coffee and sat next to Roy, ready to back him up if he needed it.

"I'm sure you know that Dr. Brackett was arrested this morning on four different charges?" Roy started. Anne looked utterly bored and looked away.

"I'm quite aware," she mumbled.

"One of the charges was assault on a patient that had a broken fibula," Johnny put in. Anne turned to him and raised her eyebrows. "I think I remember a woman coming in with a broken leg last week. Dr. Brackett took care of her," she informed them. Roy was confident that they would get more information out of Anne than they would any of the other nurses. Anne just loved to spread rumors and gossip, even though she had been warned by Dixie on more than one occasion to stop.

"Now, Dr. Brackett said that you helped him set the leg and monitor the patient while she was on bed rest-" Anne cut Roy off.

"I most certainly did not help him with that patient. I only saw the patient, I did not have anything to do with her or the doctor treating her," she snapped.

Johnny was frustrated at this point; damn these nurses!

"You are a liar!" he barked, jumping from his seat and staring her down. Anne stood up as well and ran over to him, coming face to face with him.

"Don't you dare call me a liar!" she retorted.

Johnny cringed. "Well, if the boot fits!"

Anne's jaw dropped open. She raised her hand to strike the young paramedic, but Roy grabbed her arm before she could do any damage and backed her up away from Johnny.

"We're trying to clear Dr. Brackett's name, and we need your help! Now, were you with Dr. Brackett when he treated the patient?" Roy hounded.

Anne yanked her arm away from Roy and rubbed it. "I was not! But what glimpses I did get of the patient, seems Dr. Brackett had plenty of time to do what she says he did!"

Johnny was outraged. "How can you even say that?" he demanded, "He's not that kind of a person! He's a doctor for Christ's sake!"

Anne raised her chin defiantly and crossed her arms.

"All I know is that all the nurses here are scared of Dr. Brackett, and maybe with good reason, seeing why he was arrested!" she said haughtily. Johnny screwed up his nose at the arrogant nurse. Man, he wanted to scratch her eyes out so badly, but he knew that would just get him arrested too. How could she even suggest that Dr. Brackett would do such a thing to a patient, or anyone for that matter? If Anne wasn't talking, there must have been somebody telling her to keep her mouth shut; but whom?

Roy shook his head. "We're getting nowhere," he grumbled. With that, he walked out of the break room, Johnny in tow. Anne watched them leave and scowled at them. Hotshot paramedics! Always thought that they were better than everyone else!

As they exited the break room, Roy paused and stood akimbo while Johnny tossed the HT up and down. "Should we get back to the station?" Johnny sighed.

Roy thought for a moment. "No," he concluded, "We have two more nurses we need to talk to: Betsy and Sharon."

Johnny took in a deep breath and then let it out. He could tell that this was going to be so much fun. The two paramedics were able to find Betsy pretty easily, as she was ordering the other nurses around; it seemed Dixie wasn't present at her station.

"Betsy," Johnny called out. Betsy turned around and her face lit up when she saw Johnny and Roy. "What can I do for you boys?" she asked, her demeanor unusually happy. Granted, Betsy was a typically mild-mannered nurse, today she seemed almost too jovial.

Roy returned the smile she gave him.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

 _stay tuned for more..._


	3. Chapter 3

Feel free to point out any errors. I know I'm not the best writer, but you guys can help make me better.

 **Chapter Three**

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

Betsy glanced down at her watch and then nodded. "I've got a couple minutes," she replied. "What's on your mind?"

Roy paused and darted his eyes to one side. "Can we talk about it in there?" he asked, pointing to one of the treatment rooms. Betsy frowned in confusion for a moment and then said, "Oh, okay."

Once inside, Roy pleaded his case.

"Betsy, did you help Dr. Brackett perform an appendectomy on a patient last week?" he blurted out. Betsy blinked several times and then fumbled with her words.

"I-I…well-not…no, I didn't,"

Johnny closed his eyes and turned his head down; yup, this was a conspiracy. Roy held her wavering gaze.

"If you did, your testimony is vital to the reputation of Dr. Brackett! He's being accused of crimes he didn't commit. He said that you helped him with the appendectomy and can vouch for him and say that he performed the procedure correctly."

Betsy hesitated. "But, if the patient complained about a botched procedure or inadequate care, it must be true," her attitude then turned sour when she spoke about Dr. Brackett, "But it sounds like ol' Give 'em Hell Kel is trying to drag me down with him. He was bound to mess up one of these days and it sure looks like that's what happened."

Johnny stepped forward. "We've been through this already with two other nurses. They all denied Dr. Brackett's claims that they helped him with the procedures. Now, I dunno what's goin' on, but it seems to be spreading. You're sitting here in front of us and lying because somebody told you to. Who?" he demanded. Betsy's forehead creased in worry.

"Nobody!" she countered, "I just didn't help him with the appendectomy patient! Can't you paramedics get that through your thick skulls? I know nothing!"

Betsy raced to the door of the treatment room and pushed it open. Before exiting, she turned back to the two paramedics. "And leave my nurses alone. If I hear any of them saying that you were harassing them, I'll call the administrator!"

Roy palm-slapped his forehead in exasperation while Johnny rolled his eyes. "Who next?" he questioned bitterly.

"Sharon," Roy murmured, "But I don't think she's on duty. She might be at home. You know where she lives?"

Johnny gave his partner a crooked grin. "Now Roy," he started with a snicker, "Every nurse in this hospital that's under twenty-five…I know where they live. Leave it to me."

Roy was a tad bit scared by that statement. Suddenly, their HT buzzed and the dispatcher's voice came on. "Squad fifty-one, man bit by alligator; 1307, Stiller Road. Time out, 12:57."

Johnny brought the HT to his mouth and replied, "Squad fifty-one, ten-four."

Roy gave his partner a bewildered look. "Alligator?"

"Yup," Johnny said flatly before heading with Roy out to the squad car.

On their way back to the station from their rescue, Gage and Roy stopped by Sharon Walters' house to question her about whether or not she had helped Dr. Brackett treat a heart patient.

 _Probably won't get anything out her, either_ , Johnny thought angrily. He just didn't understand how all those nurses could out and out lie through their teeth about events that had sure enough happened. Who was paying them to keep quiet? Someone very influential and someone who maybe had it in for Dr. Brackett? Come on, Dr. Brackett didn't have any enemies, right? Who would try to get the young doctor thrown in jail on false charges? What could they possibly gain from ruining someone's reputation? Johnny figured that for some people, a little satisfaction through revenge was all they needed to go on living. It was sick to know that some people stayed bent on revenge for years at a time, and would commit horrible crimes just to get back at the one person who had wronged them.

The paramedic shook all these burning questions from his head and Roy pulled the squad car into Sharon's driveway.

"This the place?" Roy asked before getting out. Johnny gave a curt nod. "Yup."

Johnny and Roy exited the squad car and walked up to the front door of the fancy ranch house. The big picture window beside the front door had a gaping hole in it that appeared to be covered with plastic wrap from the inside. Johnny gave Roy a questioning look.

"Kids?" Roy offered.

Before they could ring the doorbell, a gray-haired woman answered the door and widened her eyes.

"I didn't call the paramedics! Oh dear, are you sure you're at the right house?" she fretted. Roy and Johnny exchanged glances quickly; this petite old lady must've been Sharon's mother!

"Mrs. Walters," Roy started, "We weren't called here, but we'd like to talk to your daughter if she's home."

Mrs. Walters narrowed her eyes suspiciously for a moment and then let the two medics in. "Is Sharon in trouble?" she asked dubiously.

Johnny couldn't help muttering, "She will be if she doesn't come clean."

Roy jabbed his partner in the stomach with his elbow and forced a smile.

"We just want to ask her a few questions about a heart patient she was tending to, that's all. She's in no trouble!" he explained hastily.

Mrs. Walters tilted her head towards Roy, as if she wasn't hearing him right.

"No trouble?" she echoed.

Before either could answer, Sharon came trotting up from supposedly the basement. The door slammed and she called out to her mother.

"There are no more jars of canned corn, but I brought up some green beans!" she said, kicking her shoes off. She walked into the entry room and froze. Her chestnut eyes darted from Roy to Gage in worry.

"Mr. DeSoto, Mr. Gage…I um, wasn't expecting you here…today. Well, not that I was you know…any other day-"

Roy cut her off. "We just want to inquire about a patient you were tending to. That's why we're here."

Sharon still didn't look calm; if possible, she looked even more worried than before. She hesitated for a few moments before clearing her throat.

"We can talk on the patio," she said, turning around and leading them through the living room, out to the kitchen, and onto the patio. She closed the glass door behind her and pulled up a folding chair on the deck. Roy and Johnny both sat down across from Sharon and blinked against the sun.

"Well, what did you want to ask me about?" she started.

Roy sighed before beginning; he hoped Sharon would come clean. He'd had enough downers for the day, what with the alligator victim losing their arm. He shook the gruesome scene out of his mind and began.

"Sharon, Kel Brackett was arrested this morning on various charges. One of them is suspicion of homicide. He had a heart patient and according to the police, the patient was beaten to death with a bedpan at 2:30 this morning. Now, Brackett says you helped him treat the patient and can back up his alibi. Was he at the hospital at the time the murder occurred?"

Sharon looked too shocked to say anything; her mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. Her brown eyes were full of sadness and fear and her hands were trembling.

"W-what?" she stammered, "I don't know what you're talking about! I wasn't on duty yesterday or today! You can check the schedule!"

Johnny huffed. "Kinda hard to rely on the schedule when it's been tampered with."

Sharon looked to Roy for guidance, but saw no sympathy in his eyes; she knew she couldn't lie to them. She didn't have it in her to go through with it for much longer.

"I don't think Dr. Brackett would beat a patient to death, though," Sharon murmured, her gaze clouded with grief for the victim. Roy leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"The other nurses seemed pretty sure that Brackett was capable of murder; why not you?" Roy questioned solemnly.

Sharon held Roy's stare. "Because he's a good man and I trust him. Even if I am a little scared of him…"

Johnny cocked an eyebrow. "Scared?"

Sharon shrugged. "He seems so powerful and intense, that I just get intimidated when I'm around him. I've been better lately, thanks to Dixie. Apparently, she thought I was smitten with him," she paused to grin cutely and then continued, "Although that may or may not have been the case, she gave me some advice on how not to foul up around him."

"But you don't think he'd ever do you harm?" Roy pressed.

Sharon shook her head, "Oh no," she said seriously, "Even if he's not the sunniest person, he is gentle and cares about people. He'd never hurt anyone, especially a patient. I mean, he's a doctor, that's what he gets paid for, you know? Saving people's lives, not cutting them off."

Roy looked at Johnny and the two exchanged unspoken thoughts before deciding to pry more.

Roy looked her straight in the eye. "Sharon," he started, "This is very important…I know what you said before, but this time, I want the truth: did you help treat the heart patient and were you on duty the night of the murder?"

Sharon blinked slowly and tried to break her eyes away from Roy, but she couldn't. She couldn't lie to him. Her lower lip trembled the slightest and she nodded.

"Yes," she confessed, "I helped with the patient. I monitored him and took care of him while he was healing from his open-heart surgery."

Johnny exhaled; they finally had the truth.

Roy's heart leapt. They were actually getting somewhere!

"Then you can prove that Dr. Brackett's alibi is solid?" he questioned. Sharon shook her head. "No, I can't," Sharon replied softly, "I wasn't on duty last night or this morning."

Roy knew she was being less than truthful again; just by the way she was fidgeting.

"Sharon-"

"I'm telling the truth!" she snapped.

"The whole truth?" Johnny added.

Sharon scoffed. "Yes!" she hissed.

"Why did you lie to us in the first place?" Roy asked. Sharon looked out into her backyard and pursed her lips. She looked back at the paramedics and clasped her hands together.

"I was paid to keep my mouth shut," she muttered.

Roy and Johnny widened their eyes. "Who paid you?" they asked simultaneously.

Sharon shrugged. "I don't know. I was home alone one night and a man knocked on my door. I didn't open it and he ran out onto the driveway and waited there. When I still didn't open up, he threw a brick through my front window then ran off. There was a note tied to the brick with an envelope full of money. The note said that if I was asked anything in regard to the hospital, what time I was working, and anything about Dr. Brackett, I was to lie."

"Why didn't you call the police?" Johnny demanded.

Sharon gave him a shocked look. "The note said that my friends and family would be killed if I didn't obey or I called the cops. I probably shouldn't even be talking about this with you. I mean, there was a heckuva a lot of money in the envelope too…enough to pay for the rest of nursing school."

Roy rolled his eyes at the young nurse's naivety. "Can we see the note? We can give it to the police so maybe they can trace it."

Sharon blinked. "I burnt it," she said flatly.

Johnny cringed in disgust; seriously? "At this rate, Dr. Brackett will never get cleared and he'll lose his job," he growled.

Sharon furrowed her brow. "I think it's too late for that," she said worriedly, "I heard a rumor that the administrator has already replaced Dr. Brackett with a new heart surgeon."

This caught the paramedics' attention and they both snapped their heads up, eyes alert.

"Do you know who?" Roy asked. Sharon twisted her lip in thought.

"No. But Millie Eastman might know. She's good friends with the hospital administrator and might know who he hired."

Roy and Johnny both stood up and headed out to the squad car.

"Where are you going?" Sharon called after them. "We're paying Millie a visit!" Roy called back to her over his shoulder. Sharon watched them go and then collapsed back down on the porch chair, feeling immeasurable guilt for her actions.

 _Yeah, I know this is a rotten place to leave the third chapter on...doesn't seem very suspenseful to me...oh well, don't want to post too big of chapters for now._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to everyone who is following this story. I also thank the guest reviewers for offering their opinions. But no, I'm afraid Dr. Early isn't the culprit. Sorry about that. Didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea._

 **Chapter Four**

The crisis center was a large, one floor building with several cubicles scattered across the large expanse of space. The people in the cubicles had headsets on and were intent on the conversation they were having with the suicidal person on the other end of the phone.

"I feel like we don't belong here," Johnny muttered to Roy as they walked in.

"John," Roy started, "We talk countless people out of committing suicide every month. What do you mean you feel out of place?"

Johnny shrugged. "I dunno," he admitted.

"Can I help you boys?" a young brunette woman asked the two medics. By the look of the full paper sack she was carrying, she must've been on her way to lunch.

"We're looking for a woman named Millie Eastman. We heard she works here," Roy explained. The woman nodded. "Yeesss," she trailed off, craning her neck to look over the cubicles. She then pointed to the gray-haired Millie, who was getting up out of her seat.

"Thank ya," Roy said before heading over to greet Millie.

As they were walking over, Millie caught sight of them and a broad grin spilled over her face like sunshine.

"Gage, DeSoto," she greeted, "What brings you here?" she asked, leading them to the break room.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Roy murmured.

Millie opened the door to the break room and took a seat on a sofa that sat across from an unplugged TV. Roy and Johnny took seats in the hard wooden chairs that surrounded the eating table.

"Well, let's hear it," Millie said seriously.

Roy tried not to get irritated as he recited the same story for the hundredth time that day.

"Kel Brackett was arrested this morning on several charges, one of them being murder. We have reason to believe that he is being framed. We figure that maybe someone wanted his job or something similar and that maybe they would know something about this whole situation. Rumors have been circulating that a new doctor will be hired to replace Brackett and we need to know the name of the doctor. Since no one except the hospital administrator seems to know, we want to talk to you about it. We heard that you're good friends with the admin and maybe he told you who they were going to be hiring."

Millie sat with her mouth gaped open.

"Oh," she gasped, "I had no idea! Kelly Brackett? He doesn't strike me as the murdering type! This must all be a misunderstanding!"

Johnny nodded. "That's what we're hoping," he said soberly.

Millie sat, dumbfounded, and shrugged.

"I haven't talked to the admin in about a week. He doesn't really discuss hospital affairs with me. Although, the last time I visited, he had a middle-aged doctor there with him…"

Roy looked intrigued. "What was his name? What did he look like?"

Millie chuckled. "Slow down DeSoto," she laughed, "I'm an old duff."

Johnny and Roy both rolled their eyes and scoffed.

Millie then got serious again. "I believe his name was Baker. Derek Arthur Baker, to be exact. He was middle-aged, had sandy receding hair and kind of a beard. He had pretty blue eyes, too. I'd never seen him before, but I'd assume that he would be the one they were hiring. When I visited, Mr. O'Brian was in the process of interviewing him."

Roy scowled. "Why would the admin be interviewing a doctor to replace Brackett unless he knew Brackett would get arrested and lose his job? That's no coincidence. Mr. O'Brian must have known something, as well as that doctor."

Millie looked at them, confused. "What are you going to do?" she questioned.

The two paramedics paused for a moment; what were they going to do? Perhaps, the only thing they could do: investigate.

"We'll take a look around," Johnny informed her, "See what we can dig up."

Millie sighed. "If you need anything else, I'm at my apartment on the weekends. Now, you boys be careful, you hear?" she warned them with a smile. The two medics nodded, returning her smile. "We will," Roy assured her.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When they arrived back at the hospital, Johnny and Roy were exhausted. It was almost nine o'clock at night. They arrived to find that Dixie was back at her station, looking rather forlorn. Dr. Early was seated next to her, his hand on her shoulder and talking to her. Dixie also looked exhausted. Having her fiancé in jail wasn't doing her looks any good.

"How's things going?" Johnny asked, rather insensitively.

Dixie gave him a foul look. "How do you think? Kel is spending who knows how long in jail, and I have to keep working, not knowing what's going to happen to him! I feel terrific!" she snapped bitterly.

Johnny was taken aback and looked at Roy for help. Roy came forward and placed his hand on Dixie's shoulder to comfort her. Dixie waved him away.

"Oh, don't touch me!" she mumbled, her head in her hands. Johnny sidled up next to Roy and whispered in his ear, "Someone's a tad bit emotional today, don't ya think?"

Roy frowned. "You'd be too, if you were as close to Brackett as Dixie is. She's worried sick about him and there's nothing she can do for him at this point. We can help," Roy said in a low whisper. Johnny looked bewildered.

"How?" he echoed. Roy held his gaze. "By seeing the administrator, right now," he growled. Johnny rolled his eyes; why the heck didn't they see the administrator first? Was he really that hard to get a hold of?

Roy stepped forward to talk to Dixie. "I know this is bad time," he started softly, "But can you tell me which floor the administrator's office is on?"

Dixie looked up at him, her eyelids drooping with fatigue and hours of anxiety.

"The sixth floor, section B. Why?" she asked, not actually caring.

Johnny wrung his hands. "We, uh…got some beef with the admin, that's all. Need it straightened out."

Dr. Early perked up. "I could talk to him for ya," he offered. Johnny and Roy quickly thought of a response.

"Er, no," Roy argued, "This is something kind of personal."

Dr. Early cocked an eyebrow. "Okay…I see. Well, no, I don't see. But, suit yourself."

The two paramedics raced towards the elevator and got inside, happy there was no else in there. They relaxed on the way up.

"What'll we do when we get up there?" Johnny questioned, "Do we really want to talk to the admin?"

Roy shook his head and swung the HT around by its strap. "Nope. We're going to make sure he isn't in his office and do some….looking around."

Johnny widened his eyes. "Aw, Roy!" he scolded, "Now, we can't do that! That's trespassing!"

"Says who?" Roy demanded.

Johnny shrugged. "Whale, ya don't just go waltzing into a person's office and start digging through their things! It's bad manners!"

Roy snorted. "Annnd, you're the expert on manners, I suppose?"

Johnny twisted his lip and thought for a moment. "Well, no…actually yes, yes I am. I have enough sense not to go in there with ya. If you get in trouble, you can dig yourself out of it. I'm not going down with you!"

"You know you will," Roy said dryly.

Johnny huffed and leaned against the elevator wall. "And you make fun of my plans? This is incredible….I can't believe we're actually going to do this. We're firemen for goodness' sakes! We should've hired an investigator, or something. I said that Jim Rockford guy-"

The "ding!" of the elevator cut the young paramedic off. Roy stepped out first, Johnny following behind angrily, muttering things under his breath. They walked through the quiet and empty halls, looking for the office. They rounded a corner and saw a door directly down the hall which read in big letters: Administrator's Office. Mr. O'Brian.

"Well, how'd we ever find it?" Roy asked sarcastically.

"Lucky guess," Johnny murmured.

The two carefully walked up to the door and knocked; they tensely waited for a response. Nothing. Roy turned the door handle and was shocked to find that the office was open. Johnny and Roy carefully walked inside, closing the door behind them.

"Whoa," was all Johnny could say. The office was huge. Diplomas and photos of achievements adorned three of the walls that made up the office. What would have been the fourth wall was entirely window space, looking out onto the city. Several fake plants sat in different corners of the room, and a luxurious leather sofa sat in the middle of the space, a glass coffee table in front of it, covered with medical journals. A desk sat in front of the enormous windows, a vacant leather swivel chair behind it.

Roy glanced around and saw a large metal filing cabinet on the far end of the room, adjacent to the desk. He stalked towards the cabinet and yanked open one of the drawers, which rolled out with quite a racket. Johnny winced and motioned for Roy to keep it down.

Roy waved him off and fingered through the files, searching for a file labeled "Baker".

"What makes you think that information about the new doctor is in there?" Johnny questioned, keeping watch at the door.

Roy frowned and kept looking. "These are employee records. Even Brackett's file should be in here."

"But we want Baker, right?" Johnny asked, absent-mindedly. "Right," Roy said tersely.

He finally found a manila folder labeled, "Baker", and folded it open. The picture inside matched the man Millie described. "Derek Arthur Baker…thirty-eight years old. Attended the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles…."

Johnny gasped. "Roy, we've got company!" he hissed, moving away from the door. Roy jerked his head up and shoved the file back in its rightful place, slamming the filing drawer shut.

"What're you doing?" Johnny snapped, "We need that file!"

Roy shook his head, "If O'Brian finds it missing, he'll know something is up!"

Johnny looked outraged. "Oh, so it's okay to snoop around in someone's office, but suddenly, it's not okay to take things! Roy, your logic-"

"I may be a snoop, but I'm not a thief!" Roy countered, yanking open the closet in the office. A rack of old doctors' coats sat inside, among a vacuum and other cleaning items. Roy grabbed two of the coats and threw one to Johnny.

"Let's hope we can pull this off," he said softly as the approaching footsteps became louder. Johnny rolled his eyes. "This is theft!" he growled as he put the lab coat on.

The door opened suddenly, and a beautiful young nurse walked in. both Roy and Johnny had to stop; the woman was tall and thin, her eyes the perfect shade of blue, and her wavy blonde hair framed her face, making her look as pretty as a picture.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, like she expected to have the office to herself. Roy held a hand up to keep Johnny silent and went on.

"Mr. O'Brian wanted to talk with us. We work in the dental office downstairs and we were going to go through the analytic reports for the quarter, but I see he isn't here. You know when he'll be back?"

The nurse raised her eyebrows. "Um…no. Not really. He's kind of in a meeting, and they last a long time. Sorry," she replied.

Roy shrugged. "No problem. We'll schedule another time tomorrow, perhaps. Thank you, Miss."

With that, the two impostors waltzed out of the office and quickly rounded the corner, heading to the elevator. Safely inside, they shed their lab coats and took a breather.

"Don't drag me into that again!" Johnny scolded. Roy exhaled deeply. "That was a close one."

Johnny crossed his arms disapprovingly. "To close for comfort, you mean," he retorted. The elevator stayed silent as it descended down to the ground floor emergency room. Roy blinked and then looked at Johnny.

"She was kind of hot, though," he chuckled. Johnny looked surprised that Roy would voice his opinion about such a thing, but he just nodded and grinned. "Yeah, that she was," he agreed.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When they got back to the station, the paramedics were greeted with shocked looks. Captain Stanley got up from the couch and approached them.

"Well," he started, "'bout time you two got back. You've been gone all day. Missed supper."

"I know it," Johnny said, hurrying to the fridge to scavenge for leftovers. Roy just found a seat at the kitchen table.

"We had some work to do, that's all," he said, not wanting to get the other firemen involved in Brackett's case. Captain Stanley just shook his head and went back to watching the tube with the other firemen.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Later that same night, Johnny found himself looking through the phone book for a man by the name of "Baker". No Derek Baker was registered within the walls of text.

"Whatch'ya doin'?" Roy asked, coming up behind Johnny in the kitchen.

Johnny grunted, frowning as he searched the phone book. "There's no Baker. Not the one we're looking for, anyway."

"Maybe he doesn't live in L.A.?" Roy suggested. Johnny threw the book on his bed in the dormitory. "Could be right…we need to find out exactly who this doctor is. Did you get any information out of he file you looked at?" he questioned, looking up at Roy, who held a coffee cup in his hand.

"All I got was that he attended the David Geffen School of Medicine, that's about it," he said, taking a sip of his java.

Johnny rubbed his chin, pondering his options. "Hmm…David Geffen School of Medicine…maybe we can dig up some information there?" he concluded. Roy grinned.

"Great," he said enthusiastically, "That'll be our next lead."

Both of them were confident that they would get this whole ordeal cleaned up before Dr. Brackett appeared in court.

 _Don't worry...the next chapter gets more interesting. I just have to finish proofreading it._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 _Howdy guys! I'm so glad to be posting again! I was finally able to transfer my documents from my old computer to my new computer! Thanks so much for bearing with me and for reading this story! I'l be posting a new chapter every week so stay tuned._

 _Please let me know what you think of this update and feel free to suggest changes. Even if I don't make the changes you suggested, I'm still taking into account what you've told me and using it to influence my future stories, so your commentary does mean alot to me. :)_

Millie Eastman sat in her recliner, watching Johnny Carson monologue as she sipped her last cup of coffee for what was left of the day. She was about to flick off the TV and head to bed, but she heard a soft knocking on the door. Curious, she tied her bathrobe and slowly approached the door. She opened it slightly, only to see Derek Baker standing there.

"Derek," she greeted, forcing a smile, "Come on in!"

Baker walked into the small apartment and closed the door behind him. He was a very tall man; his face was thin and bony, covered with a sandy-colored beard. His hair was short and receding and his eyes were dark blue and intense. The frown lines present in his face were intimidating as was his set jaw. Baker had a rather lank frame, but his arms and gloved hands looked powerful enough to crush one's neck. He might have been handsome, if it wasn't for the ugly creases that marred his face.

Marks of bitterness and hate, Millie thought disgustedly.

"How are you holding up, Millie?" Baker asked, his voice low and hissing like the devil himself was inside the man.

Millie clasped her hands together and turned away with a shrug.

"A couple firemen came to me today….they asked questions, Derek," she said, almost trembling. Baker walked up behind her, his movements swift and quiet.

"What did you tell them?" he inquired.

Millie faced him. "Nothing important," she lied, knowing that Baker had forbid her from dropping names. She prayed that Johnny and Roy were hot on Baker's trail, even though she knew very well that if Derek found out that the two medics were after him, that he'd kill her. God, she hated this whole situation!

"You're lying to me, Millie…" Baker rumbled.

Millie shook her head, trying her best to come off as innocent. "I told them nothing about you! You've got to believe me!"

Baker nodded slowly, taking one step back. "Just keep your mouth shut, Millicent, and you shall remain unharmed."

Millie felt terrified of the man; she knew he was powerful, and quite insane…not a very good mix.

"I just feel guilty about this whole thing!" she confessed, "Kelly going to jail for a murder he didn't commit! You and your silly revengeful schemes!"

Baker narrowed his eyes like a hawk. "You'd do well to keep your emotions about this situation to yourself," he warned.

Millie shook her head, "No, I will not," she refused, "What you are doing is wrong and you know it! I don't even know why I let you bribe me into this fix! Kelly caused you no harm whatsoever-"

Baker grabbed her around her neck and shook her. "He ruined my life! He made my own wife turn against me and abandon me! You'll never know the pain he's caused me!" he barked. Millie was horrified; darnit, she should've have kept her mouth shut!

"I can no longer trust you, Millicent," Baker said decisively, "You've got a heart made of gelatin. I cannot allow you to spoil my efforts now."

Millie struggled to get away from his iron grip, but he was incredibly strong. Baker threw her down on the floor, holding her neck with one gloved hand, and reaching out to the coffee table with the other. Millie kicked and thrashed, trying to bite him and get away.

"It's too bad," Baker hissed, "You would've made a good accomplice!"

With that, he stretched out the phone cord and quickly wrapped it around old Millie's neck.

She gasped for breath and kept on thrashing, but no amount of fighting could lessen the tightness of the cord around her neck. Baker stood up and pulled harder, draining the last bits of life out of the old nurse. "You shall die," Baker spat, "Like I did years ago!"

Millie gave out one last gasp of breath and finally let the dizzying blackness consume her.

As they headed to see the dean at Baker's college, Gage and Roy argued over if they were doing the right thing.

"Why are we chasing this Baker guy when we should be harassing O'Brian?" Johnny demanded, "I mean, it's obvious he knew something was going to happen to Brackett!"

Roy nodded, "Yes, but he's an administrator," he countered, "Why would he risk his entire job for some sick revenge on Brackett? Naw, I think this doctor is the guy we're looking for. Think about it, this doctor might have been up for Brackett's position in the hospital and lost it! This whole framing could be his doing!"

Johnny rolled his eyes. "If you say so. I seriously doubt the dean is going to give us any new information on this Baker character."

After entering the college campus, it took the two paramedics forever to find the dean's office. Johnny yawned, already tired of all the "investigating" that they had been doing. Their shifts seemed to last longer when they weren't actually working. The Cap sure seemed disapproving of their running around during spare time. He gave them the okay, just as long as it didn't interfere with their response time.

As they entered the dean's office, the first thing they saw was the dean's secretary, smashing away at the keys on her typewriter. She looked up when she heard them enter and she smiled at them.

"Well, hello," she said in a low and smoky voice, "Anything I can help you with?"

Roy approached her desk and stood in front of it. "Um yes, we'd like to see Dr. Marcus, please," he asked. The woman shook her head.

"I'm afraid he's not here right now," she said apologetically, "But you can tell me what you need and I can help you."

She raised an eyebrow at Roy and gave him a winning smile. This made Roy a tad bit uncomfortable, but he smiled back. Johnny was in awe of her beauty. Her eyes were leaf green and her hair was long and dark brown, coming down below her shoulders. Her eyelids were heavy and seductive, and her form was just as attractive.

"Well?" she inquired again, bringing both Johnny and Roy out of their fantasies.

"Oh yeah," Roy said, coming back to reality, "We wanted to ask about a man named Derek Arthur Baker, who attended this college. We were wondering if you could maybe tell us more about him."

The woman nodded and stood up, extending her hand for Roy and Johnny to shake.

"Sure can," she said, flashing them both a half-grin, "I'm Lucy, by the way."

Roy and Johnny nodded and watched her strut over to one of her filing cabinets and pull it open. Within seconds, she had pulled out a file folder and was handing it to Roy.

"Here's his information," she said simply, sitting back down behind her desk.

Johnny laughed nervously, "Um, are you allowed to show us this?" he asked. Lucy cocked an eyebrow. "No," she replied, "But I ah…think I can make an exception." As she said that, she glanced at Johnny up and down and winked at him. Johnny coughed, pretending he didn't notice, and stood behind Roy to avoid being evaluated.

Roy read through the file and widened his eyes.

"Check who he has for a reference on his application," he murmured. Johnny looked over his partner's shoulder and read the reference name.

"Dixie McCall?" he echoed.

"She must've known him," Roy said, furrowing his brow. "And if that's the case, maybe Dr. Brackett has some connection to this Baker fella."

Lucy grunted to get the paramedics' attention. "Did you say Dr. Brackett? Kelly Brackett?"

They both looked at her with bewildered expressions. "Yeah," Johnny said suspiciously. Lucy snorted and then grinned. "I used to know him. He too attended this school. He and I used to be, well….close," she said, leaving little to the imagination with her expression.

Roy raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "Well," he chuckled, "Ya learn something new everyday."

Johnny grabbed the file away from Roy. "Is any of this contact information current?" he asked Lucy; she shrugged. "As far as I know, it's defunct. I tried calling Derek once to roast him for being a jerk…no dice."

Johnny sighed and handed the file back to her. "Well, at least we have something to go on, now. Baker must've known both Brackett and Dixie…I wonder if there was some kind of feud between them."

Lucy laughed, "You're damn right there was," she spat, "Derek hated Kelly and he was part of the reason I broke up with the hottie."

"Huh?" Roy uttered.

Lucy rolled her eyes, her arms crossed and her long tan legs kicked up on her desk. "Derek was always fighting with Kelly about something, but he claimed they were actually friends. That Derek was a nut job, if you ask me. I even remember one time when he just barged into Kelly's dorm when he and I were having some fun, if you will, and started yelling at him about something absurd. How embarrassing. And you thought girls were dramatic? Puh-leeze. Derek had a serious case of jealousy when it came to Kelly. One, Kelly was valedictorian, two, he was better-looking than Derek, three, I heard a rumor that Derek's Dixie chick had the hots for Kel."

Johnny couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"No kidding? That's incredible!"

Lucy obviously didn't think so and scoffed. Roy waved his partner off and looked back at Lucy. "So Dixie McCall was Baker's chi…uh, girl?" he asked, pointing to the file on her desk. Lucy cast her glance aside. "I only know what I heard. If Dixie McCall is the one on the reference paper, yeah, she was his girl. I guess she went to a nursing school while Derek was studying here. I almost became a doctor here, myself."

"I'm guessing it didn't work out?" Roy said, tilting his head in sympathy. Lucy lowered her eyelids at him. "What do you think, carrot-top? I never did get your name, by the way, or your partner's…"

Roy snickered. "Yeah, I guess you didn't," he resigned, "I'm Roy DeSoto and my partner's name is Johnny Gage."

Lucy grinned. "Partners huh? You guys…uh…play for the other team?"

Roy and Johnny exchanged shocked glances. "What? No way! It's strictly professional!" Johnny said defensively.

Lucy was getting a kick out of antagonizing the young paramedic. "Sure 'bout that? I think you two look cute together," she said deviously.

Johnny gave her a mild look, "If you'll excuse my rudeness, I'm straighter than the pole your mother danced on last night."

Lucy widened her eyes. "Well, haven't heard that one before. Okay, sorry 'bout that. Like I said, you two are cute."

Roy huffed. "Cute? Yes. Cute together? Not a chance in church."

Lucy shook her head in amusement and sat up straight in her chair.

"Anything else I can help you guys with?" she asked. "No," Johnny added, not letting Roy respond, "We got what we wanted, for the most part. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime, boys," Lucy said, cocking her eyebrow suggestively before turning back to her work.

Reed sighed and shook his head, limping towards Kel Brackett's cell. "How many times do you plan on coming to visit?" he demanded, before unlocking the cell and letting Roy and Johnny inside.

"I'm gonna get so much flak from Mac for this…" Reed grumbled as he limped off on his sprained ankle.

Dr. Brackett got up off the bench in his cell and greeted his visitors.

"They're still letting you guys in, huh? Kind of a bad idea, especially since I'm a dangerous killer," he joked. Johnny chuckled, "Well, we convinced Jim we're gonna be regulars. He better get used to it, or let you out."

"So, did you dig up anything regarding the culprit?" Brackett asked, arms crossed.

Roy nodded, "Sure did," he said, "Do you know a Derek Arthur Baker? He attended David Geffen Medical School with you."

Brackett narrowed his eyes in thought. "Yes, I do recall a Baker. All I can remember is he had a bad habit of not knocking, if you know what I mean," he said with a slight grin.

Johnny snickered, "Yeah," he started, "We talked to your ex-girl, Lucy. Didn't get her last name…"

Brackett perked up at the mention of Lucy. "Lucy Jackson? Oh yeah, she was something else. Too bad she broke up with the best thing that ever happened to her. By the way, what's she up to, now?"

"Working as a secretary for the dean at your college," Roy replied bluntly. Brackett snorted in amusement. "Figures…she had a habit of trying to earn special favors from her teachers. I knew it would get her in trouble eventually. Well, that's what happens when you disregard your need for education…you botch up your life. Doesn't matter. She wouldn't of made a good doctor anyway. You can't treat your patients and seduce them at the same time."

Johnny laughed, "If only!"

"But, what about Baker?" Brackett pried. Roy put his hands in his pockets. "I guess he and Dix were on a boyfriend-girlfriend status, according to Lucy," he said.

Brackett looked down and nodded, "Yeah, I think I do recall something like that…I think that's what Baker was all bent out of shape about. I guess he thought I'd steal his girl. Well, look at me now, I did anyway."

Johnny sat down on the bench. "I know that Baker was jealous of you, but would that be reason enough for him to want to frame you? The motive is too weak, I think."

Brackett sat next to Johnny. "I wouldn't put it past him. Baker was a psycho."

Johnny frowned. "We need something more to go on…I really don't want to ask Dixie about Baker. She's pretty broken up as it is and bringing up an ex-lover might not be the best thing to do."

Brackett gave a noncommittal grunt and looked down. "Yeah…"

Roy nudged Johnny. "Hey, maybe we can find more out about Baker if we ask the staff at Dixie's nursing school. Do you know which school she attended, Doc?"

Dr. Brackett shook his head. "Millie might know. She and Dixie were practically best buds…still are."

Johnny stood back up. "That's it! We can ask Millie about Baker and Dixie's relationship! If we find some dirt, maybe we can establish a strong enough motive to provide Baker as a suspect!" Roy led Johnny to the door of the cell, but Johnny suddenly turned around and gave Brackett a dubious look. He stifled a laugh and coughed before he started.

"Um, just one more thing," he said, trying his best at impersonating Columbo. "Betsy, when talking to us, threw out a rather obscure name when referring to you."

Brackett was expressionless; he figured that whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Yeah? What?" He asked, knowing he wouldn't like it one bit.

Johnny paused, and then looked up at the doctor. "Uh…'Ol' Give 'em Hell, Kel,' I believe she said."

Brackett grinned and shook his head.

"Yeah…that name's been going around Rampart a lot lately. Anne came up with that one, unsurprisingly."

Roy chuckled while Johnny broke out in a large grin. "Man, I hate to say it, Doc, but you just aren't that popular 'round the premises, are you?"

Brackett crossed his arms and shrugged one shoulder.

"Apparently not."

Roy nodded and made another move for the door. "Alright then, we'll be seeing you." with that, he knocked on the bars to the cell and called for Reed to let he and Johnny out.

"Jim! We're ready to leave!" Roy shouted through the bars. Reed rolled his eyes and unlocked the door, letting the two paramedics out.

"You better not have snuck him any escape tools. That was a short visit," Reed growled. Roy and Johnny brushed past the young officer. "Don't worry. We wanna do this all legal and such," Johnny assured him. Reed narrowed his eyes and stood akimbo.

"I'll bet," he muttered.

Tune in next week same time, same bat channel...


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Yo sorry, life happened. Here's the rest of the story for those of you who are still invested in it. I haven't looked at this story in almost two years so if the ending is lame, I'm sorry!_

Chapter Six

It was mid-afternoon by the time the paramedics were able to get to Millie's apartment. They tended to two car accidents and one false alarm before they were standing outside of Millie's door. Johnny rang the doorbell and Roy knocked. One minute, two minutes….no reply.

"Millie?" Roy shouted.

Johnny shook his head. "She's got to be home! Her car was parked out front and she hasn't picked up her mail yet! Maybe she fell and can't get up?"

Roy pursed his lips. "Could be," he said slowly, "Maybe we should get the manager up here to open the door?"

Johnny quickly turned around to run down the stairs to the manager's office. "Before you can count to five, Roy," he said as he descended the steps.

The manager scowled as he swung the keys around his key ring, trying to find the right one. "If she's fine, I'm going to sock both of you!" the white-haired old duff snapped.

The right key came about and was shoved into the keyhole, the door practically kicked open by Johnny and Roy.

"Millie!" they called simultaneously. As they entered the living room, they froze in horror and shock at the sight of Millie Eastman's body lying sprawled out on the floor in front of her TV. The phone cord was still taut around the old woman's neck and her eyes were still open, glazed over in death.

"Oh my God," Johnny gasped, cringing. Roy screwed up his nose at the sight and turned towards the manager.

"Call the police, now!" he urged. The manager nodded, at a loss for words, and headed towards his phone downstairs.

Johnny and Roy bumped each other back and forth as they sat in the elevator heading up to the fourth floor of the building where Dixie's apartment was.

"You can tell her!" Johnny hissed. Roy exhaled in exhaustion.

"Fine," he sighed, "This isn't going to be easy, though. Dixie and Millie were best friends."

"I know it," Johnny replied, "This is going to crush her…"

Roy leaned against the wall of the elevator, wondering why the heck he and Johnny were doing this…oh yeah; because Dr. Early was working and Brackett was in jail. Roy hated breaking bad news to people, but doing it to his friends was the worst. He hoped Dixie would understand; after all, she was a nurse and was used to people dying.

Dying, not getting murdered! Roy thought angrily.

This was the last thing he wanted to do on his day off. He just dragged Johnny along for extra support, although most likely, Johnny would just say something stupid and make Dixie feel worse.

As they approached Dixie's door, both paramedics hesitated. "Knock," Johnny said.

Roy frowned and knocked quickly.

"Just a minute," a groggy voice replied. They waited, and a very tired-looking and disheveled Dixie answered the door.

"Come on in," she murmured, leading them into her immaculate apartment. Although Dixie had let herself go to the dogs, her apartment was as clean as ever. Roy and Johnny stood in her living room, which was two steps below the foyer and the kitchen.

"We…have some bad news…" Roy started. Dixie poured herself a cup of coffee and walked to the couch. "I already know about the murder," she said flatly.

"How?" Roy asked. Dixie gestured to the TV, which was displaying an "urgent news bulletin" about a former nurse found strangled to death in her apartment.

"I'm sorry," Roy said. Dixie looked blankly at him, her eyes dull and emotionless.

"Don't be…it wasn't your doing. I'd just like to get my hands on the bastard that did this…" she said, frowning ever so slightly. She flopped down on her couch and continued to sip her coffee.

"You two were…close?" Johnny asked.

Dixie nodded. "She was practically my mentor before I was a full-fledged nurse. I could always count on pouring my heart and soul out to her after a bad day. She was always there for me. Now she's gone…I don't what's worse: killing yourself or getting killed."

Johnny shrugged. "I know this sounds stupid, but I believe there is some honor in getting killed. Weak people give up on life and take their own…strong people resist. By the looks of, Millie fought to the last to save her own life. Although she didn't deserve this, I think that I can feel just a little bit better knowing that her death wasn't by her own hand."

"She was murdered. There's no honor in that, Johnny," Dixie said bitterly, "She was killed in her own damn apartment and the killer got away. I can't feel good about that, not right now."

"I don't think I would have made it through the last parts of school without her. She was my friend…"

Roy looked to the floor and shifted on his feet.

"Which school did you go to?" he asked. Dixie sighed. "For the first year, I attended the University at Bakersfield. I attended the school here in L.A. for the last years."

Johnny and Roy gave each other a decisive look and headed for the door. Before leaving, Roy walked up to Dixie and gave her a slight hug as she sat on the couch.

"Stay strong," he said, kissing her on the forehead and meeting Johnny at the door.

"You're driving," Roy said, tossing the keys to Johnny as they walked out.

Johnny snorted. "Thank you, Roy, for letting me drive my own car," he said dryly.

Roy smirked. "We're heading to Bakersfield, by the way."

Johnny stopped in the hallway and went slack-jawed.

"Bakersfield?" he demanded, "That's a whole two hours away!" Roy kept on walking. "I know it is."

Dr. Brackett leaned up against the bars of his cell and huffed; he felt like a common criminal! He was beyond being mad anymore. He was tired and wanted out. Brackett watched Reed walk up and down the cell block, putting papers here, checking people in there, doing whatever he could on his sprained ankle.

He'd be easy to nab…

Brackett thought, sneakily. He then rolled his eyes, knowing that trying to escape would not help his current situation. They'd catch him in no time and then he'd probably be charged with breaking jail. Speaking of jail, he thought that the cells nowadays had steel mesh for windows, instead of these cold metal bars. One could reach through those bars and grab an officer if he came close enough! Dr. Brackett nixed his thoughts of escaping and sat back down on his bench. A blanket would've been nice, or even a pillow. Man, these cops were tough.

A clang on one of the bars of the cell caught the young doctor's attention.

"How're you holding up?" Reed asked, his hands on one of the bars. Dr. Brackett snorted.

"What do you care?" he spat. Reed shrugged.

"Why would your friends be working so hard to prove you innocent if you weren't?" Reed asked, tilting his head in suspicion. Brackett gave a half smile.

"Because they trust that I would never lie to them," he grumbled. Reed looked interested. "Most criminals' friends leave them once the cops come, but your buddies seem pretty resilient. They must really look up to you," he said, sympathetically. Brackett shook his head. "You must be a rookie," he murmured.

Reed frowned. "I've been on the job long enough to know when a person is lying."

Brackett looked up at the young officer and furrowed his brow.

"Oh yeah?" he challenged, "What do you think?"

Reed held his gaze steadily. "I think you're telling the truth," he answered soberly. Brackett laughed briefly and then stood up and approached the cell door, standing face to face with Reed.

"Then why the hell don't you do something?" he demanded, "If I don't get these charges cleared, you know how long I could spend in jail?" the doctor whipped back around and ran his hands through his mussed hair.

"Because I have no power," Reed retorted, "Besides, it's only suspicion of homicide. Not like they have a solid case or anything."

"They found my fingerprints on the man's body and on the murder weapon and you're telling me they don't have a solid case!?" Brackett barked.

Reed took another step forward.

"If you're truly innocent, you mind telling me how your fingerprints were all over the place at the murder scene?"

Brackett scowled. "Because I was the doctor in charge of caring for the patient, dammit! Of course I would be the prime suspect! But I am telling you, I didn't kill that man! I worked for five hours to save his life, why in the name of God would I kill him? It doesn't make sense!"

Reed cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Most crimes don't make sense. Why would a man break into a school and kill all the children before turning the gun on himself? Things like that don't have any logic in the real world. It might seem reasonable to the person committing the crime at the time, but why?"

Brackett cringed in disgust at the officer. "Whose side are you on, anyway?" he snapped. Reed stood his ground, not flinching at the tongue-lashing he was receiving.

"I'm on the side of justice. It's my job to see it get done. I just want to know who the just party was in this case," he explained calmly.

Brackett lurched forward and grabbed Reed by the front of his shirt and pulled him close. Reed made no effort to free himself, knowing the doctor's mannerisms well enough to know that he wouldn't hurt him.

"Maybe if you focused more on finding out whom the guilty party was, this whole thing would clear up faster. You cops are notorious for making things harder than they need to be!"

Reed curled his lip. "You think I want things to be like this? If it was up to me, I'd let you go, but we have a system around here, a system that needs to be followed."

"Hey!" a shout came from down the hall, and Pete Malloy rushed to his partner's rescue. Dr. Brackett let go of the officer and stepped back.

"What's going on here?" Malloy demanded, looking back and forth between Reed and Brackett. "Nothing, Pete. Just talking," Reed lied, straightening himself out.

"Well," Pete said, narrowing his eyes at the doctor, "If he gives you any trouble, let me know."

Brackett returned Malloy's dirty look and then turned away.

"Dixie McCall…" the old nurse mumbled, digging through the student files with her razor sharp manicured fingernails. "Ah, here it is," she said, licking her fingers before opening the file. The nurse's name was Vanessa Godowski, was in her late fifties, and was rather heavyset. She had been working at Bakersfield Nursing School for over twenty years, and it showed. She looked in the file and nodded.

"McCall, Dixie…18 when she attended the school…switched over to UCLA nursing school after her freshmen year. Second in her class…" the nurse rambled on. Roy and Johnny stood in front of her desk and sighed; there was no way this old bat was going to let them look through the file themselves; not that it mattered anyway, she was reading it all for them.

"Who were her friends or classmates? Didn't you teach one of her classes?" Johnny asked. Ms. Godowski waved him off. "Wait just a minute, young man!" she scolded, "My eyes aren't what they used to be!"

"Apparently," Roy murmured rudely. Ms. Godowski heard and looked up, giving the young paramedic her most intimidating Clint Squint. "I've got at least thirty years on you, young man-"

"Also two-hundred pounds," Johnny interrupted. He immediately covered his mouth and shrugged apologetically. Roy rolled his eyes. "Keep reading," he urged the old nurse.

Ms. Godowski huffed and kept reading allowed.

"The highest scoring students were: Jill Finley, Dixie McCall, Cassidy Redford, Margaret Van Cleef-"

Johnny snapped his fingers. "Van Cleef!" he shouted, making Roy and Ms. Godowski jump. "Don't you remember a Peggy Van Cleef at Joe's Party last week?" he asked. Roy scratched his head and then shrugged. "Noo…what'd she look like?"

"Short, very petit. Raven hair and blue eyes? Like a girl version of Dr. Brackett, only a lot nicer," Johnny explained, trying to jog Roy's memory.

"Was she the one that lit the candles on the birthday cake and later spilled wine on herself?" Roy asked. Johnny nodded. "That's it! That was her! We need to talk to Peggy Van Cleef. I think she might be a friend of Dixie or know something about her, seeing as they were classmates and were at the same party recently," he suggested.

"What if she's not?" Roy demanded. Johnny twisted his lip. "S'worth a try," he said, grabbing the paper away from Ms. Godowski. Roy grabbed his coat off of the chair in front of the nurse's desk and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's roll," he huffed, still wishing he could be at home on his day off, not all the way out in Bakersfield.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Peggy Van Cleef got up at the ring of her doorbell and looked through the peephole before answering. She saw two tired looking men standing on her front steps, waiting patiently.

Peggy opened the door, leaving the chain bolted, and peered through the narrow opening at the two men.

"Yes?" she asked nervously.

"Peggy Van Cleef?" Roy asked. "That's me," Peggy answered, "What do you want?" Roy stared at her for a brief moment before continuing. She was so innocent-looking, like a flower. Her raven hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her ice-blue eyes were wide in wonderment and fear. Roy didn't know if he and Johnny would get any useful information out of her, but he hoped that this trip from L.A. to Fresno was worth it.

"We're paramedics for the Los Angeles County Fire Department," Roy introduced himself, "I'm Roy DeSoto and this is my partner, John Gage. We just want to ask you some questions."

Peggy froze. "Wait? Weren't you two at Joe's party?" she questioned. Johnny grinned. "That's right," he put in, "We arrived right before Joe got there…not that anyone but you noticed."

Peggy unbolted the chain and opened the door, letting the two paramedics in. She led them into her living room and gestured for them to sit down. Roy and Johnny took a seat on her overstuffed brown sofa. Johnny sunk into the couch and grunted, trying to regain a natural position. Roy nudged Johnny, trying to get him to stop fidgeting. Johnny slapped Roy's arm and continued to wiggle into place.

"Doggonit," he muttered, "Frickin' overstuffed piece of shi-"

Roy jabbed Johnny in the stomach exceptionally hard and tried grinning at Peggy to cover it up. Johnny gasped in pain and hunched over, holding his stomach.

"Nice couch," he rasped.

Peggy frowned. "Um, what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked, cringing a little bit.

Roy rolled his eyes at Johnny's constant fiddling and just started without his partner's attention. "We wanted to know a little bit more about Dixie McCall and her relationship with Derek Baker," he explained. Peggy's pupils constricted and her hands started shaking.

"W-why not ask Dixie? What makes you think I know anything about her or Baker?" she said weakly. Roy stared at her. "You were one of her classmates and were at the party last week. We figured you might know something about her," Roy replied calmly.

Peggy's forehead creased in worry and she pursed her lips. "What?… What, about their relationship?" Roy sensed that this subject was troubling her, as he noticed a bead of sweat run down one of her temples.

"Well, just exactly what their affiliation with each other was. I mean, how deep was the connection?" he asked tactfully, or so he thought. Peggy swallowed hard and looked down at her hands.

"They got married out of high school," she murmured. Johnny finally looked up from adjusting his sitting position. "Married?" he echoed in shock.

Peggy nodded. "Even though they were separated through college because they attended different schools. Dixie…she was just smitten with Baker. Thought he was it. Well, we both found out what he was like," she spat the latter bitterly. Johnny frowned and Roy asked the question, "What do you mean?"

Peggy blinked and turned away. "Dixie got pregnant during summer break-"

"Pregnant?" Johnny repeated in outrage. Roy shoved Johnny backwards into the fluffy sofa and gestured for Peggy to continue. Peggy sighed and proceeded. "Well, Baker got really protective of Dix. He practically bit anyone's head off who dared come close to her. That included Dr. Brackett, although he and Dixie were just friends then. Baker had introduced the two at a party once. He told Dixie that he and Brackett were practically best friends. Well, Brackett mentioned to me at that same party that Baker really actually hated him. Had a chip on his shoulder about something."

"Was Baker abusive to you and Dix or something? You don't seem to like him very well," Roy inquired, knowing he was tip-toeing past eggshells at this point. There was no telling exactly how touchy Miss Van Cleef was about this subject, and if Roy had to find out, he'd do so cautiously.

Peggy screwed her nose up at Baker's name.

"I hate him. Dixie never should have married that-that… creep. I warned her and she agreed with me eventually. Anyway, after she got pregnant, Baker would do everything he could to keep Dix cooped up. There wasn't anything he could do when school started up again. Dixie worked long and hard to attend her classes, and Baker got furious when she exerted herself," Peggy said angrily.

"What happened to the child?" Johnny questioned, now very interested in this conversation. Peggy wrung her hands and furrowed her brow anxiously.

"Well, by the time Dixie was eight months gone, she realized how much of a psycho Baker was. She told me that Baker had been cheating her during her pregnancy and would sometimes come home drunk and beat on her," Peggy's eyes grew moist and she wiped them quickly.

"Dix told Baker that the child was stillborn, as he had been out and about when she went into labor. He didn't even visit her at the hospital to see if she was alright. I was the one that drove her there."

"Was the child dead?" Roy asked.

Peggy shook her head. "He was very much alive, Mr. DeSoto. I don't know what became of him after Dixie lied to Baker."

"Why did Dix lie?" Johnny pondered.

Peggy hesitated. "She did what she thought was best for the baby. She knew having a baby during school was a mistake and also realized marrying a psychopath was an even bigger mistake. She told me she got rid of the baby….gave him to someone who could care for him. Be real parents. She said that if she raised the child, she would do it alone, for fear of what Baker might do to it. She said that having only one parent wasn't fair to the baby, nor was a lack of attention. Dixie only did what she thought was best."

"So, what happened then?" Johnny pried, very intrigued.

Peggy stared ahead, seemingly at nothing. To Roy, she looked lost in distant memories…bad memories.

"After Dixie lied to Baker, he caught on to her and knew she wasn't telling the truth. He beat her to get her to tell the truth…almost killed her. Dix still wouldn't fess up and Baker went to someone else who would know what happened to the baby."

Johnny and Roy paused, looking at Peggy with sudden realization.

"Me," she said blankly. Her chin trembled and she looked ready to break down.

"Did he hurt you?" Johnny said.

Peggy looked up at him, her face twisted with grief. "He did more than that," she choked out, "I was Dix's best friend. We went through everything together…of course he figured I would know what happened to the baby. I told him all I knew. I honestly didn't know the exact wherabouts of the baby and I still don't. He didn't believe me. God, why didn't Dix just fess up to him? So much pain would've been saved if she had just listened to me and not married that son of a bitch!"

With that, she started sobbing and Roy came over and put an arm around her. Johnny shrugged and did the same. Peggy pushed them away and shook her head.

"Don't," she pleaded, "Leave me be. I can't talk anymore…you want more help, you'll have to ask Dix yourself." Peggy got up and left the room, heading upstairs to her bedroom to calm down. Roy and Johnny exchanged glances momentarily and then showed themselves to the door.

Dr. Brackett sighed and stared up at the ceiling of the cold and lonely cell. A stray lock of his hair rested on his forehead and he blew at it, watching it twitch. He continued this aimless persuit until he heard the security door at the end of the hall slam shut and a familiar voice echo around the block. Brackett sat bolt upright on his bench and rushed to the cell door, craning his neck to see who was visiting. Dr. Early walked down the hall, chatting with Reed, who seemed mildly put-upon. Brackett regained his proffesional composure and raced back to the bench, not wanting to look like a desperate prisoner when Early saw him. He had to look like nothing was seriously wrong; he would act fine with the situation. Cool, calm, and collected were the keywords for the young doctor. He could get thrown into jail for any number of reasons, but whatever the reason, he had to look good. He couldn't let his colleagues, especially Dr. Early, see him like he really was: an emotional and physical wreck.

Dr. Brackett sat on his bench and stretched out, folding his arms behind his head like he was completely relaxed. Dr. Early approached the cell and grabbed one of the bars.

"Well, if it isn't the Kell-raiser?" the old doctor said with a smile. Brackett snorted and the side of his mouth twitched with amusement. He sat up.

"Well," he retorted, "If it isn't the Early bird? Or should I say late-bird? You should've visited me days ago!"

Joe chuckled. "Oh, come on, Kel," he defended himself, "I was busy. Picking up the slack for you, you know."

Dr. Brackett gave a noncommittal grunt. "Besides," Joe said, "The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

Brackett shook his head to clear it and looked back at Joe. "Well, isn't Reed gonna let you in?"

"On a last name basis already? You always were a social butterfly, Kel," Joe joked, "No; I don't want to be inside a locked room with a dangerous criminal."

Brackett cringed. "Oh, you're just terrific," he spat angrily. Joe rolled his eyes.

"So touchy," he said, "I take it you're not adapting well to prison life?"

Brackett narrowed his eyes and stared at the wall as he lay back down. "I don't want to adapt," he argued, "That would imply that I intend on staying here for a long time. I do not intend on staying here for a long time, Joe."

Joe looked sympathetically at his colleague and best friend. "You've got a difficult case," he pointed out. Brackett frowned. "I know it," he muttered, "But I've got people on it, working right now to prove me innocent."

Joe cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head in curiosity. "I didn't know you hired a private investigator?"

Brackett hesitated; what would Joe say if he found out that Brackett hadn't actually hired professionals, just a couple of savvy paramedics? Savvy was good, right? They had leverage, connections, they knew people. Besides, they had charisma. Well, at least Roy did, anyway. That Gage was a piece of work. Brackett had the feeling that maybe people would be more open to sharing information with innocent paramedics, rather than snoopy private investigators. Paramedics were there to help, not to snoop. At least, that's what people thought. People could keep on thinking that if it led to the doctor's freedom.

"Yes," Brackett said confidently, "Yes, I did. Two of them. They're knowledgable and trustworthy and won't stop working until I'm free."

Joe smirked. "Hmm…they don't sound like any P.I.'s I've ever known."

Brackett put on his most guiltless face and raised an eyebrow. "Please, how many P.I's have you known? Anyway, they're darn good," he said confidently. Joe continued smirking and shook his head in pity for his friend.

"Kel," he started, "Did you 'hire' Johnny and Roy?"

Brackett paused for a moment and crossed his arms. "And what if I did?" he challenged.

"Then you're a fool," Joe said bluntly.

"What?" Brackett demanded. Joe scoffed. "There's no way Roy and Johnny are going to be able to prove anything! They're just paramedics! Kel, why the heck didn't you get someone experienced?"

Dr. Brackett could do nothing but shrug, something he rarely did.

"I don't know," he confessed, "I guess I just have more faith in Gage and DeSoto than I do in anyone else. The last time they reported to me, it sounded like they were making progress."

Joe frowned and looked down.

"I'll see you later," he resigned. Brackett watched him go and thought about the old doctor's words. Was he really unwise to let Gage and Roy handle his case? But, what could go wrong?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The next day, Johnny and Roy drove to the hospital, still on their own free time, and decided to "interrogate" Dixie. Joanne was very disgruntled with Roy, not liking his constant absence and running around the city with Johnny. Johnny himself didn't particulary enjoy this large task that just seemed to be dragging on. But, he kept convincing himself that it was for the benefit of Dr. Brackett, who was totally innocent of all the charges brought against him. As the two medics entered the hospital, they became more and more aware of how painful this interrogation session would be for Dixie. Certainly not physically, but emotionally; bringing up bad memories would do no good for her. As much as Roy hated to do this to his favorite nurse, it had to be done. They needed a prime suspect and this Baker fellow seemed to fit the bill. They just needed Dixie to help them discern a reasonable motive.

Roy first figured that maybe Baker framed Brackett because he wanted the young doctor out of the way so he could get Dixie back. He must have known that Dixie worked at Rampart otherwise, what would be the point? So far, he and Johnny had established no basis for Baker wanting to get revenge on Brackett. Did Baker hear about Dixie and Brackett's engagment and get riled up? What could possibly spur something like this?

Johnny had argued with Roy and said that framing someone just to get your ex back was a little extreme. He said that there had to be something more to it. Some benefit. Unless, Baker really was as sick as Peggy said, and just wanted to see Brackett in jail and away from Dixie so he could have her all to himself.

As they walked up to the head nurse's station, they took a deep breath and tried to develop as much confidence as they could; this would take firmness and aggressiveness.

"Hey guys," Dixie greeted from her station, forcing a weak smile onto her downtrodden face. "Hey," Johnny replied, trying to be cheerful. Roy tapped her desk and leaned on it nonchalantly.

"How are things here?" he asked. Dixie shrugged. "Adminstration is hiring a new doctor. He's supposed to be on the job tomorrow morning."

"I heard about that," Roy said, "And that's what we want to talk to you about."

Dixie looked puzzled. "What?" she echoed. Johnny grabbed her shoulder gently.

"Let's talk over some coffee in the break room," he suggested.

Dixie frowned at the two paramedics, knowing that they were up to no good. The only time they were doing good was when they were working. Most of the time, they were either snooping around or causing trouble…Well, Johnny was, anyway.

The trio sat down at the table in the break room and Johnny fetched some coffee. When they were seated comfortably, Roy, much to his own chagrin, started the conversation.

"Dix, do you know the name of the man they're hiring?" he asked slowly.

Dixie shook her head. "No…" she replied, just as slow.

Roy took a deep breath and let it out.

"His name is Dr. Derek Arthur Baker," Roy said.

Dixie's jaw dropped and her eyes went as round as saucers. Without a moment's hesitation, she got up and ran to the break room door. Johnny ran after her and grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" she shouted. Johnny sat her back down at the table, with difficulty, and tried to get her to listen.

"Dix, we need your help!" he pleaded. Dixie scowled at him. "No, I'm not staying here a moment longer. Not with Derek!" she said, her voice wavering.

"We have reason to believe that Baker is the reason Brackett is in jail," Roy explained, "We think he might have framed him."

Dixie's forhead creased in anxiety and she strugged to get away from Johnny's grip on her upper arm.

"Johnny," she begged, "Please let me go! I have to get out of here! I have to get away! Before Derek finds me! If he finds me, he'll kill me!"

Roy grabbed both of her shoulders and led her to the couch, sitting her down.

"You need to listen!" he ordered, "We just want the full story! If we can come up with a reasonable motive for Baker to frame Brackett, we can get Baker arrested and you won't have to run. Just work with me here!"

Dixie stopped struggling and looked Roy in the eyes for a moment. She then looked down and started to cry. Johnny looked at Roy with disdain and mouthed the words, "What did you do to her?"

Roy shrugged. Dixie wiped her tears away with and finally relaxed. "What do you need to know? How did you figure out that Derek and I were…?"

"A lot of driving around," Roy said simply.

Dixie frowned. "I thought I'd shaken him off," she said, almost shuddering, "I knew he'd find me eventually. It was bound to happen sooner or later. My God, if he finds me now, he'll kill me. He must know I work here."

Roy sat next to Dixie and put her hand in his. "Why would he want to kill you?" Roy asked softly. Dixie rubbed her temple and squeezed her eyes shut. "It's a long story," she mumbled. "Then you better start from the beginning," Roy said solemnly. Dixie looked at him again and sighed.

"Derek and I were high school sweethearts," she began her tale, "We got married when we graduated and then we attended college. Derek went to Geffen Medical School and I went to Bakersfield to learn. It was hard being away from each other, but we got to see each other on the weekends, sometimes.

"Derek was always kind of….off, I guess. He was really touchy when anybody commented about him or displayed kindness towards me. He had some jealousy issues. Anyhow, Derek really wanted us to have a baby. I told him it would be a bad idea, since we were both still in school. He agreed with me, but reluctantly so. Well, we got to be together all during the summer and that was the summer I met Kelly. Derek introduced me to him at a party…said they were best friends. After I met Kel, I realized just how nice people could be and how Derek was turning me against everyone. He was always bitter about something and his jealousy and bitterness infected me and I just didn't know it until, like I said, I met Kelly. I also remember that summer as the summer I got pregnant. I found out about a week or so after the party and Derek was all excited."

Johnny and Roy nodded; they had heard this part from Peggy. Dixie then took a deep breath and continued.

"Well, during the summer, Derek stopped letting me out of the apartment we shared. He said he didn't want any harm to befall me. He said he would protect me from the 'cruel people out in the world'." Dixie then laughed harshly.

"He was a liar. He never did anything for me. I stayed home alone all day, scared that he wouldn't come back or that I wouldn't be able to protect myself if anything happened. I got a phonecall from Peggy one day, and she informed me that Derek had been cheating on me with several of my classmates. He met them at the party where I met Kel. I was furious when I found out." Dixie clenched her fist in Roy's hand and he gently let go of her. Both Johnny and Roy could sense the rage that was coming off of the troubled nurse.

"I confronted him about it one time…it was a big mistake. He hit me," Dixie said, her voice shaky, "He hit me and I was out cold. I woke up, just as alone as I usually was. I then got terrified whenever he came home. He'd come home drunk and violent and loaded for bear. I'd lock myself in the bedroom, and the times when I wasn't quick enough to hide, he'd beat me. He beat the bloody hell out me and I sat there and took it. I don't know why I stayed. I was foolish then, I suppose. Maybe I still am. But, I just loved him too much to leave him. I can't quite understand it. He made me feel like it was my fault I was getting beat. He said I deserved it, that if I was a better wife, he wouldn't be forced to treat me the way he did. I believed him…I believed every word he said to me, every lie, because I was blinded by love and loyalty to him."

Roy shook his head and Johnny sat there, dumbfounded.

"Oh, Dix," Roy said, pulling her in for a light hug. If there was one thing that paramedics were good at, it was comforting people. This was one thing they were highly trained in: keeping people calm and making them feel better. Even if things were going terribly, Roy was able to comfort the patients, whether with kind words or gentle reassurance, he could do it.

"We all do things that don't make sense," Johnny tried to encourage her, "Love can blind everyone at one time or another…even people who think they're strong and resilient still can trick themselves into doing, well, things that will only hurt them in the long run."

Roy frowned and looked at his partner, who was staring at Dixie with sorrow in his eyes. Roy had a feeling that Johnny was speaking from experience…he seemed to know what he was talking about. There just seemed to be something more behind what the young paramedic was saying; more than Roy could ever understand.

"What happened then? Did you leave?" Johnny asked.

Dixie cast a sideways glance. "Well, it was during a weekend when I went into labor and I called Peggy and had her drive me to the hospital. Derek was out drinking with some friends while I was in the hospital and after I gave birth. I called him when he was home and told him where I was and he refused to come, said there was no need. If there was ever a need, it was right then. I needed reaasurance from someone I loved, and granted Peggy was my best friend, she wasn't my husband. The whole situation felt wrong and I felt betrayed because of Derek's whole inattention. Well, I…" Dixie's voice faltered and she laid her head on Roy's shoulder while Johnny patted her on the back, something he wasn't used to doing to anyone.

"I had to do the right thing," she rasped, "I laid awake many nights during my pregnancy, trying to decide if what I wanted to do was truly right. I knew I could never raise a child with Derek being the drunken bastard he was. I also knew that juggling school and the care of a child by myself would never work. I wanted to give my baby the best of everything, and I knew having only one parent would be so unfair to him…so I…I gave him up for adoption after he was born. I never saw him again after I gave him up…I don't even know if he is still alive."

Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing; how could someone go on with their life for as long as Dixie had, bearing a hidden cross? She had obviously never told anyone else what she was telling him and Johnny, and it was causing her a great deal of pain to do so. Her eyes were staring off into the distance, back with the child she gave up so many years ago.

"Not a day goes by when I don't think about my baby," Dixie confessed tearfully, "Hoping what I did was best for him and for me. Hoping that I didn't make a mistake. I tried so many times to forget about him, but no matter how hard I try to shake it off, I can't. I feel like this is my punishment for making so many bad decisions. I tried to convince myself that it's not my fault, everything happening the way it did. But the truth of the matter is, I was an ignorant fool and I made bad choices. I still do…"

Johnny couldn't help but feel his heartstrings being tugged with every word Dixie said. Every sentence was so full of sincere emotion; he almost felt the pain she was going through.

"Giving my baby up was a pain I would never wish on anyone…I had to lie about it to Derek. I told him the baby was stillborn. I figured it would save us both a heap of pain. I was, as usual, wrong. He yelled at me, told me I was lying. He said there was no reason for the child to be dead. I didn't change my story and he remained furious. He stormed out and I was left in the apartment, still weak after having my baby. I only stayed in the hospital for the time that was necessary. After the adoption agency took my baby away, I left."

Roy pulled away from Dixie and looked her in the eyes.

"We talked to Peggy and she said that Derek knew you and her were friends. She said Derek made her cough up the wherabouts of the baby."

Dixie didn't move. She closed her eyes and turned her chin downwards.

"Derek raped her into telling him what happened to the baby. Peggy didn't have to endure that, but she did it, for me. He finally got her to tell, but even Peggy didn't know exactly what had happened. She just knew that I gave it up for adoption. She didn't know which agency or where they took it. I guess, after it happened, Peggy called me in tears and told me what had gone down and said that Derek was coming back to the apartment to kill me."

Johnny cringed. "Kill you?" he echoed. Roy gave his partner a dirty look; why couldn't he keep his thoughts to himself instead of voicing his outrage?

Dixie wiped one eye and continued. "Yes, kill me. As you can imagine, I didn't waste anytime in leaving. I packed my things, took every last cent of Derek's savings and left before he got back. I moved here and attended a different nursing school and completed my education. Everything had gone pretty smoothly, until Kel got arrested and Millie murdered. I knew that Derek must have had something to do with her murder from the moment I heard it…Millie was my mentor when I first attended school and Derek knew it. Maybe he figured killing her would be another way to weaken me, make me give myself up. Kel going to jail and Millie getting killed…I knew Derek had found me, was trying to get back at me. I just didn't know he would be working here. If he is, I have to say that he's had every opportunity to kill me. Why not now?"

Roy pursed his lips. "That's what we're trying to figure out," he murmured. Johnny twisted his mouth in a scowl of concentration. "Maybe he's planning something big? He doesn't start working until tomorrow. He might make a move then. If so, then we need to do some more probing."

Roy stood up and gave Johnny a look of agreement. "Right," he said, "But in the meantime, Dix, I want you to keep a low profile. I don't want Derek to hurt you, and like you said, he has the perfect opportunity to do so. Don't give him a chance; don't let him get you alone. Derek may be a psycho, but he is also a very smart man. He won't try anything when everyone is watching."

Dixie held Roy's gaze. "Then you don't know Derek," she said flatly, "He's a brazen fool and will do anything to gain attention, good or bad. Maybe I'll stick around Joe and Mike for awhile."

Roy nodded, "Whatever keeps you away from Derek is good enough for me," he said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Reed kept on typing at his desk, his mind not really on his work, but on his prisoners. One prisoner, in particular. That Brackett fellow; he sure seemed like he was telling the truth. But, the murder charge seemed good enough to stick, if it wasn't for Brackett's character. He just didn't seem capable of committing such a heinous crime! Suddenly, the glass push doors at the entrance of the station flew open and Gage and DeSoto traipsed in. Reed inwardly groaned, his ankle already hurting. Why? Why did these two paramedics have to keep harassing him? His ankle was sore and he didn't want to have to deal with a bunch of back and forth when he was working.

"Let me guess," Reed started, "You two want to see the doc?"

Johnny nodded and grinned. "You're good at this game, Reed," he prodded. Reed gave the medic a mild look and got up, wincing with pain as his swollen foot hit the floor. He limped over to the metal security door and slipped in his card key, opening the door.

As the trio walked down the hall, Reed winced with every step he took. His ankle throbbed like the devil himself was gnawing on it. Even the pain medication had not helped. He could still remember how it all happened, like it was yesterday; or a week ago, actually.

It had been a rainy day the day of the sprain…the day of the drug bust. Malloy and MacDonald had been staking that gun store out for months. They knew some suspicious activity was going on, and their prime informant had only confirmed their suspicions. So there they were, sitting in an inconspicuous looking sedan, dressed in civilian clothes, like real badasses. Malloy narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the storefront. All was quiet on the front…Sweat poured down Reed's face as he watched a red and white pickup truck pull up in front of the gun store. Malloy bit his lower lip and raised his walkie talkie to his mouth. "The Jelly is in the donut" he whispered. Reed cocked an eyebrow; he'd never heard Malloy talk like that…must have been the heat of the moment. Well really, it was ninety-eight degrees out and the rain was not making it any cooler. Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a baggy blue polo shirt and tan slacks exited the pickup truck and walked into the store. Malloy and Reed simultaneously exited the car and carefully made their way across the street to the storefront. Then, before either of them knew it, the man came rushing out of the store like a bullet. Reed instinctively ran after him while Malloy stayed behind. Neither of them knew what in the blue blazes had just happened, but Reed was hot on the suspect's trail. Reed chased him into an alleyway, dodging debris from trashcans scattered across the way. The suspect made a flying jump for a chain-link fence at the end of the alley and Reed got ready to follow. He got ready for the jump, but was unable to decrease his speed in time. An empty chip-bag in a nearby puddle did not prove to be a good foothold and Reed came crashing to the ground, twisting as he did so. He quickly sat up, dazed. Malloy was standing over him, puffing. "Good job," Malloy said sarcastically. Reed moaned and laid back down on the wet ground, his ankle throbbing.

Reed growled inwardly as he came back to the present moment. He was so foolish for letting the suspect get away….

When the three finally reached the end of the hall, Reed opened the doors for them. "Come on in," he said sharply.

Johnny and Roy followed, but then pushed in front of Reed, knowing exactly which cell Dr. Brackett was being held in. When they got to the cell door, they tapped the bars, waking the doctor up. Brackett groaned and turned over on his bench to look at them.

"What the-?" when he realized who they were in his drowsy state, he became wide awake and stood up.

"Have you made some new progress?" he demanded urgently. Roy and Johnny nodded.

"We now have some reasonable suspicion as to why Baker would want revenge. He's a prime suspect and has to be the one who paid the nurses to keep their mouths closed," Roy said, "We just need to know the names of the patients who are charging you, so we can confront them. This could be our last chance."

Brackett frowned and huffed. "The only one I can remember is Raphael Stewart, the dead patient. I can't remember any of the others' names. Reed would probably know," he said.

Johnny and Roy whipped around and looked at Reed, who gave them a stern expression. "Now, I'm not digging through the records to give out names I'm not supposed to," he growled. Johnny scoffed.

"They're just names," he said defensively. Reed shook his head. "The victims chose to remain anonymous until their cases went to court. If I give you their names and you go and harass them, I could lose my job!" he snapped.

Johnny, Roy, and Brackett all gave Reed disappointed looks. "You're not interested in justice," Brackett spat, "You're only interested in kissing up to the head honcho. And I thought policemen would do whatever it took to serve justice, even if it meant risking their jobs."

Reed cringed. "Well you were wrong," he retorted.

Brackett crossed his arms and took a rigid stance. "I should know by now that if there are some asses to be kissed around here, Reed'll find 'em and act accordingly," he taunted.

Reed gave the doctor a dirty look.

"You know darn well that I can't stick my neck out any farther than I already have!"

Roy gave the officer an outraged look. "Stick your neck out? You haven't done anything to help us! We just want some names, that's all!"

"Yeah," Reed barked, "And people in Hell want ice-water! Tough."

Johnny glared at the young officer. "You do know that if you don't give us the names, we'll get them ourselves?"

Reed palm-slapped his own forehead and moaned. "Why me?" he grumbled.

"Fine," he relented, "Come with me."

Roy and Johnny exchanged excited glances and Brackett grinned. Johnny gestured towards the doctor. "Check it out, Roy," he laughed, "We finally got the doc to smile!"

Brackett rolled his eyes and Roy just chuckled. Reed then diffidently led the paramedics down the hall to an office. He opened the door and ushered the medics in.

"Carol," he said to the brunette woman sitting at the desk in the office. She stopped typing and looked up at Reed with her big brown eyes.

"Yes Jim?" she asked, her eyes darting from Roy to Gage.

Reed titlted his head towards the paramedics and then at Carol. "These paramedics want to know the names of the patients who charged Dr. Kelly Brackett with malpractice and assault."

Carol frowned for a moment. "Okay, Jim," she said, very bewildered.

She pushed her swivel chair over to the desk behind her and turned to the computer that sat there. "It might take a few minutes," she said as she typed in several commands.

Reed nodded. "We have time," he replied.

Johnny and Roy watched as the computer screen displayed several rows of names in green letters, flickering as they appeared. After what seemed like forever, Carol grabbed a pen and notepad and wrote something down. She then ripped the paper from the pad and handed it to Reed.

"Those are their names and addresses," she informed him. Reed examined the paper carefully and then gave a nod of approval. "Thank you, Carol," he said with a slight smile.

Carol grinned at him and turned back to her work.

The moment they left the office, Roy snagged the paper from Reed and raced with Johnny to the exit. Reed scowled at them as they left.

"I'm going to be up to my neck in shi-" he was interrupted by Dr. Brackett.

"You won't regret this," he said seriously. Reed crossed his arms and gave the doc a challenging look. "I better not," he said gruffly, "Or Malloy'll kill me. And if he doesn't, Mac surley will."

Brackett snorted in amusement. "Glad to hear that your boss is so understanding," he joked. Reed wasn't in the joking mood; he'd just bent the rules for a couple of pushy paramedics. Oh God, what had he done? He just hoped that Brackett was right…he didn't want to have to regret his decision.

After they received the information they needed, Johnny and Roy drove to Roy's house and decided to make a few phonecalls. Joanne was on the phone when they got there and Roy had to kick her off. When she hung up, Joanne stood up and glared at Roy.

"Couldn't you and John wait until I was done talking to Aunt Harriet?" she demanded. Roy shook his head, "Sorry Joanne," he apologized, "But this is more important than Aunt Harriet."

His wife scoffed and stalked off to the kitchen. Johnny picked up the phone and looked at the paper Reed had given them. "Is there a separate line you can use to call the other victims?" he asked Roy as he swished the roatry dial. Roy frowned. "Yeah, but Chris is on that line," he said. Johnny rolled his eyes. "Than kick him off!" he commanded rudely. Roy sighed and went upstairs to grab the other phone away from Chris.

Meanwhile, Johnny waited for someone to pick up on his line. He was calling a Linda Ross, the appendectomy patient who complained about a botched procedure. After about three rings, Mrs. Ross picked up.

"Hello?" came the hushed inquiry.

"Yes, hello Mrs. Ross? I'm Lieutenant John Gage with the Los Angeles Police Department," he lied, "It has come to my attention that you have an unusual case pending between you and Dr. Kelly Brackett, lead heart surgeon at Rampart General Hospital."

"Y-yes," Mrs. Ross stammered, "He messed up on my appendectomy. I don't have to be a doctor to see what he did wrong. I have a nasty scar, I've been in more pain than I was before I had the procedure done, and the care he gave me was less than adequate. Why, he practically laughed in my face when I asked for a pain killer! He told me to suck it up. Never in my life have I been treated so badly by a doctor. He should be prohibited from ever being a doctor!"

Johnny cringed at such a bald-faced lie; Baker must've paid this woman a big hunk of cash to spin a tale like that!

"Mrs. Ross, we have reason to believe that a man by the name of Derek Baker has something to do with this. He is a well known criminal and is notorious for blackmailing people. Now, I'm not saying that he forced you into pressing charges against Dr. Brackett, but if he did, we need to know. If you came forward now, it probably would save you a lot of trouble in the future," he explained slowly.

A thoughtful silence resounded. A half-sigh half-scoff came from Mrs. Ross.

"I won't get arrested, will I?" she asked.

Johnny snorted to himself in triumph; people would confess to just about anything if the interrogator had "Officer" before his name. "Ma'am," he started officially, "To avoid as much hassle as possible, I would go downtown immediately and drop the charges you've pressed. You won't be asked any questions and you won't have to appear in court. That is, if you were really blackmailed. I trust you'll do the right thing."

"I really won't be in trouble?" Mrs. Ross asked suspiciously.

"If you don't mention this call or anything about Derek Baker and just drop the charges, not another word will be said about this whole thing," Johnny assured her. Mrs. Ross exhaled. "Fine. Thank you." with that, she hung up.

Johnny sat back and waited for Roy to come downstairs. So far, so good. If Ross dropped the charges against Dr. Brackett, he'd be that much freer. It would also help if the assault charge and the other malpractice charges were dropped. Then all they had to solve would be the suspicion of homicide.

Suddenly, Roy came running down the stairs, looking rather ecstatic. He jumped from the last step and raced over to Johnny, who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Johnny," he said breathlessly, "You're not going to believe it!"

Johnny grinned slightly. "Luck?"

"They're going to drop the charges!" Roy said, putting his arms up and then dropping them to his sides; it was like a great weight had been lifted from his conscience.

"That's terrific! Even the lady who claimed that Brackett, you know…"

Roy snorted, "Even her! She fabricated those rape allegations because Baker paid her to! She spilled her guts when I mentioned his name and she started crying me a river!"

Johnny beamed. "That's incredible," he laughed, standing up and slapping Roy's arm, "Wait 'till Brackett hears!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The next day, Dixie was as jumpy as a jack-rabbit on a hot greasy griddle. She spent her every spare minute in the coffee room, her hands shaking violently whenever she tried to sip her drink. Unfortunately, she had been put on a shift that Dr. Morton and Dr. Early weren't working. She felt so lonely without her close friends to guard her from the inevitable fact that she'd have to face Derek. Dixie hoped and prayed that Roy and Johnny would come to check in on her before she had a nervous break down. She didn't want to have another episode like the one the previous day. She'd never broken down like that in front of anyone, not even Kelly. Dixie always tried her best to hold herself together around the young doctor. She knew that hiding her feelings from her significant other would be the first step to an unsteady relationship, but how could she let herself slip into an emotional state she couldn't get out of? Maybe marrying Kelly would be a bad idea…love had gotten her in trouble and she never wanted to be in a relationship that made her feel the same way she did when she was with Derek. Kelly is different, Dixie tried convincing herself. The doctor never made her feel like she was some helpless infatuated teenager. The last thing she wanted was to feel vulnerable around anybody. I can't be blinded, not like I was with Derek…my blindness almost killed me…was she really ready to surrender herself to another man? One part of her said that she could never trust anyone ever again, not the way she did with Derek. The other part of her shouted that being badly burned by one person didn't define the rest of the human race.

The door to the coffee room opened and Dixie was jerked from her troubled thoughts.

Johnny and Roy walked in, looking rather jovial. Today they were sporting their paramedic uniforms, evidently back on the job.

"Hi Dix!" Johnny greeted, standing next to her while Roy sat down in front of her.

"You two seem happy," Dixie muttered.

Roy smiled. "We just cleared Brackett of three of the four charges that were brought against him," he cheerfully informed her. Dixie couldn't help but grin. "That's great," she said excitedly. Finally, some results!

"We're going to go downtown to share the news with Brackett then back to the station to tell the guys," Roy said. Dixie's smile faded and she glanced down at her watch fretfully. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

Johnny cocked an eyebrow. "Not too long. You need company?"

Dixie shook her head and put her sleeve back down, covering her watch. "No, no. I'll be fine. I guess I better be getting back to work," she sighed, getting up and heading to the door. Before she was halfway out, she froze and gasped in horror.

"Oh my God," she choked out, sounding sick to her stomach. She slammed the door shut and backed into Johnny and Roy, shaking.

"What is it?" Roy demanded, grabbing her and trying to get her to talk.

"D-Derek is out there!" she stammered.

Johnny frowned and walked over to the door, opening it slightly. He peered out and saw the bustling hallway and people in crisp white uniforms whisking past with purpose. In the midst of the din, he saw a tall, thin man wearing a lab coat and standing in the center of the hallway, talking to a young student nurse. He was nodding and the nurse pointed directly towards the coffee room. The man turned and started approaching the room.

Johnny quickly shut the door and grabbed Roy.

"He's coming here!" he hissed in a panic. Roy looked horrified, but not as much as Dixie, who looked like she was about to die. "I'm dead," she cried.

"I'll see if I can head him off at the pass," Roy said determinedly, getting up and walking to the door. Johnny held onto Dixie and turned her away from the door.

"I'm apologizing in advance for this," he said quickly, looking her in the eye.

Dixie was more than bewildered, "Apologize for wha-?" before she could finish her sentence, Johnny wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, planting his lips on her.

Dixie was more than shocked; who did this creep think he was? She would not stand for this! Dixie tried slapping him and pushing him away, but the young paramedic only held her tighter. She stopped resisting when she heard the all-too-familiar voice of her ex-husband.

"Someone told me that I could find Dixie B-uh, McCall in here," Baker said, his voice terribly sadistic with each word he said. Roy blocked the door casually and shrugged.

"Naw," he lied, "I haven't seen her since this morning."

Baker narrowed his eyes, which glinted like chips of ice. "You're sure?" he pressed. Roy scoffed. "There's nothing in there but a couple of love birds making out," he said disgustedly. Baker grunted and craned his neck, looking over Roy's shoulder to see what looked to be two lovers in a romantic embrace. He couldn't discern any faces and just glared at Roy.

"Thank you," he growled. With that, Dr. Derek Arthur Baker turned on his heel and left. Roy let out his breath and closed the door to the coffee room. He turned around just in time to see Dixie shove Johnny away and smack his face.

"Ughllh!" was all she could say. Johnny held his face and grimaced. "I save your bacon and you slap me?" he grumbled.

"You disgust me!" Dixie snapped, straightening herself out and fixing her hat.

Roy walked up to Johnny and gave him a push. "You okay?" he murmured. Johnny nodded.

"I'll live, but Dixie might have a hemorrhage if you don't do something," he said sarcastically. Dixie whacked Johnny on the head again and messed his hair up, fuming. Johnny hid behind Roy and Dixie set her jaw.

"I can't believe you did that!" she shouted. Roy put his head in his hand and snickered. "He did save your bacon," he pointed out. Dixie whipped around to face Roy.

"You two anticipated that?" she asked outrageously.

"It's our fallback position," Johnny joked. "Oh, you two are just great," Dixie spat.

Roy put a hand on Dixie's shoulder to calm her. "You should be thankful that Derek didn't see your face," he said, "Johnny did you a favor."

Dixie waved him off. "Just go on," she ordered, "I'll be fine."

Roy shrugged and walked out. "Come on, Johnny," he said, leaving. Johnny followed him and opened the door.

Dixie uncrossed her arms and turned to look at the medic. "Ah, Johnny?" she asked, hesitating slightly. He looked at her, expecting to get something thrown at his face.

"Yes?"

"You're a great kisser," she said with a grin. Johnny acted like he wasn't a bit surprised and just laughed. "Don't tell Brackett that," he said playfully before walking out.

Johnny and Roy headed upstairs to the admin's office, now ready to confront him about Dr. Baker. It was doubtful that Mr. O'Brian didn't already know that Baker was a no-good, but if he was absolutely clueless, the medics saw it as their duty to inform the admin and get Baker fired. If they couldn't get him arrested, maybe they could make him lose his job. Anything to get him away from Dixie…Their plans to head back to the station would have to wait.

As they sat in the elevator waiting to see Mr. O'Brian, Johnny spoke up.

"Roy," he started, "What if O'Brian was really in cahoots with Baker?"

Roy shrugged. "Well," he sighed, "Then we're in a heap of trouble."

Johnny cringed. "That's just fine," he muttered sarcastically.

The elevator ride up was slow and Johnny thought he could hear both his and Roy's hearts beating. Johnny bit his lower lip and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Roy frowned intently and stared straight ahead, his thoughts fixed on something far away. Johnny inhaled deeply and held his breath as the "Ding!" sounded at their floor. The doors receded and Johnny and Roy collectively gasped. There, right before them, stood none other than Dr. Derek Arthur Baker.

"Hello, gentlemen," Baker said with a slight smile.

Johnny's mouth twisted in a scowl of utter distaste for the man. "Son of a bitch," he spat.

Baker only grinned even more.

"My, my….A bit on edge today, aren't we? By the way, magnificent job hiding Dixie from me today, I loved the way you did it too…Frankly I'm not surprised she agreed to it…she always was such a whore," he said wryly. Johnny cringed and clenched his fists, resisting the urge to smack Baker. The only thing that held him back was the fact that the doctor looked strong enough to break the medic's arm. It was at that particular moment that Roy did something that shocked his paramedic partner. Roy rushed out of the elevator and grabbed Baker around his neck with one hand and held his right arm with the other. The red-haired paramedic slammed the older doctor against the wall and held him firmly.

"Start talking, Baker!" he ordered, "We want answers and we want them now!"

Baker choked out a laugh through Roy's death hold. "Answers? Oh dear, what did Dixie tell you about me?"

Johnny stepped up behind Roy and glared at Baker. "Oh, nothing much," he retorted, "Just that you're a lying, killing, cheating, no good piece of shit."

"Shit puts it mildly," Roy growled.

Baker gave them a huge grin, revealing rows of straight, yet, yellow teeth.

"Put aside your verbal abuses and listen to my side," he beckoned, "Dixie was overly-emotional from the day I met her. Anything she told you was a lie."

Roy squeezed tighter around Baker's neck and grit his teeth. "Bullshit," Roy snarled.

"Dixie's story?" Baker asked, "BS is quite right, my good man."

"I said talk, dammit!" Roy shouted, shaking Baker viciously, "English, asshole, do you speak it? Give me answers, not bald-faced lies! If you don't spit out the truth I'll ram this stethoscope down your throat!"

Johnny was quite surprised at his partner's behavior and language; you thought you knew a guy!

Baker remained calm for a nanosecond and then jerked free from Roy's hold. In a flurry of lightning-quick movements, he turned on Roy and roundhouse-kicked the medic in the face, sending him catapulting into the wall and then onto the floor. Johnny stood dumbfounded and then raised his hands to defend himself as Baker turned around to face the young medic. Baker swung a leg up to dispatch Johnny, but the paramedic jumped backwards, narrowly missing the blow. Baker then threw a punch which caught Johnny off-guard and knocked him clean off his feet.

Baker stood above the two defeated medics, breathing heavily. He straightened his lab coat out and stared calmly at Johnny and Roy.

"My, how the mighty have fallen. Bring forth Dixie, and I will give you answers. Answers, for sure." with that, the sandy-haired doctor walked away, no-doubt heading to O'Brian's office.

Johnny held his nose and groaned. "Damn," he hissed, "Dix didn't say he knew karate!"

Roy stiffly got to his feet and placed a hand on his bruised jaw. "I should've seen that coming," he rasped. Johnny got up and raced to Roy's aid. "You alright?" he asked. Roy nodded.

"Just sore, that's all," he assured his partner. Johnny sighed. "You know we'll have to get Dixie," he said. Roy closed his eyes in exasperation for a moment and then rolled them skywards.

"What did we get into?" he demanded in a low voice.

Dixie left the coffee room to head back to her station; she had a job and it needed to be done.

As she sat back down at her desk and tried to relax, she couldn't help thinking of Derek. How long could she hide from him? He'd find her eventually. Dixie would have to move, leave her job, her friends. Johnny and Roy didn't have a chance in church against Derek. He was a very powerful man. She realized that even more as she saw a very bruised Johnny and Roy come traipsing up to her station. She got out from behind her desk and rushed up to them.

"What happened to you two?" she asked, horrified. Johnny frowned. "You could've told us Baker knew karate," he said dryly. "Baker?" Dixie echoed, "He was up at the administrator's office?"

Roy nodded slowly. "We tried to get him to cough up some answers, but he said he wouldn't talk unless he could see you first."

Dixie stood still; no, never. She couldn't let Derek see her. Not after everything that he had done to her. That man had nerve.

Johnny saw the look of sheer horror in her eyes and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"Dix," he started, "If we can get him to talk, it could mean Brackett's freedom."

Dixie felt a lump form in her throat and her chest get tight. She dearly loved Kelly and now knew that he was the man she wanted to marry, but could she really take such a risk for him? Wait, that wasn't a question. She had to take the risk for him. Kelly was innocent and didn't deserve the long sentence that was surely awaiting him. If facing Derek meant Kelly going free, she didn't have much of a choice. Would Derek still be a raging psycho? Would he still be mad at her? Dixie knew the answers to those questions all too well and closed her eyes. She swallowed hard and nodded.

"I'll see him," she choked out.

Roy put his hand gently on her back and led her to the elevator. "We'll be with you," he comforted. Although Dixie trusted the two medics, a sense of dread started to swell within her. Facing up to a horrible mistake is what it felt like.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Dixie held her breath and prayed to God she wouldn't regret her decision. She knew such a prayer was futile, because Dixie was certain she would regret every minute of what she was about to go through.

"Stay with me," Dixie begged, grabbing both Johnny and Roy's wrists. Roy put her hand in his. "We won't leave you," he promised. Johnny gave her a determined look.

"We'll be with you every minute," he assured her.

The doors to the elevator opened and the trio walked out, heading to O'Brian's office. As they walked down the hall, Roy spotted something in Johnny's hand.

"What's that?" he asked. Johnny pursed his lips.

"Tape recorder," he murmured, "If Baker spills the beans, I want to record the confession. Cuz, you know Reed ain't gonna let Brackett go strictly on hearsay. If he hears the words come directly from the horse's mouth, maybe he'll be more willing to jump through some loopholes for us."

Roy nodded. "Good idea," he replied.

When they reached the door to O'Brian's office, Dixie seized up and tried to run the other way. Roy held her back as carefully as he could. "I can't do it, dammit!" she said, breaking down, "I just can't!"

Roy calmed her down and held her head close to his chest. He tried to soothe her worries with a few encouraging words. "Do it for Dr. Brackett," he mumbled, "Do it for you. You need to face Baker. If you don't now, you'll have a ghost following you around for the rest of your life."

Dixie looked at Johnny for an argument against Roy, but the dark-haired medic stood his ground. "You're right," Dixie relented, "I have to."

"Alright," Roy said quietly, reaching for the door handle and pushing the door open. Standing in the dead center of the large office, was Derek Arthur Baker. His hands in the pockets of his lab coat and a smug look on his face, he was still the arrogant pig Dixie remembered.

"Hello, Dixie," Derek said, his voice almost a whisper. Dixie frowned at him and stayed close to Johnny and Roy. Derek opposed her actions by sweeping across the office floor and edging closer to his wife.

"I've missed you," he said slowly, reaching a hand out to her.

Dixie took a step backwards. "Don't. Touch. Me," she growled menacingly.

"I'm your husband," Derek argued, "It's my right." he then tried again to grab her arm and she flinched away.

Johnny grit his teeth and stepped in front of Dixie. "Are you stone deaf? She said she didn't want you to touch her!"

Derek narrowed his blue eyes at the young paramedic. "I thought I dealt with you earlier? It's clear you don't learn from your mistakes."

With that, he tried to kick Johnny in the chest, but the medic caught Derek's foot and quickly twisted it, sending the doctor flailing to the floor with a thud.

"I never was a good learner," Johnny said flatly.

Derek jerked his chin up, gesturing to two previously unseen orderlies who stepped from the farthest corners of the room.

"Restrain these stubborn pests," Derek ordered. The rather buff orderlies ran forward and bent both Roy and Gage's arms behind their backs, tightening their grip every time the paramedics tried to break free.

"Let them go!" Dixie demanded, running up to Derek and glaring at him. When Dixie made that kind of a face at anyone else, it was considered the Death Glare. Either you did what she told you to do, or faced the consequences. Neither Johnny nor Roy was quite sure what the consequences exactly were, but they weren't sure they wanted to find out. Derek however, gave his wife a "Go ahead, try me" look.

"I will, my dear," Derek said as soothingly as he possible could, "If you do something for me."

"Everything comes with a price, doesn't it, Baker?" Roy snapped. Derek glanced over his shoulder at the russet-haired paramedic and raised an eyebrow.

"Cocky today, aren't we DeSoto?" he asked. He then turned around and walked slowly up to the paramedic. Roy tried to jerk away from the chiseled orderly that held him, but his actions proved to be fruitless. Derek came face to face with Roy.

"I'd hate to bring you to your knees," he said in a whisper. Roy smirked.

"I too would hate to bring anyone to their knees," he retorted, "Anyone but you. It would be all too natural-looking to see you on all fours. I can't picture you any other way."

Johnny clenched his teeth and rolled his eyes in exasperation. Hot damn, Roy was on a roll today and it only made Derek even more pissed with every word the medic said.

Derek pursed his lips and widened his eyes in anger. He drew back his arm in anticipation and Dixie cried out in panic.

"Derek, no!" she screeched as her husband socked Roy in the stomach. His blow produced a gasp from Roy and the medic hunched over in pain.

"Childish," Roy spat impudently, "Someone verbally challenges your dignity and you punch 'em. Logic level: a solid zero."

Johnny struggled against the orderly's grip and looked down at Roy.

"You alright?" he asked. Roy nodded, breathing heavily. "I'll be fine," he muttered. Johnny huffed. "Just shut up from now on," Johnny hissed through his teeth, "You're acting like me and it's scaring the crap out of me!"

Derek inhaled deeply and puffed his chest out, smoothing the wrinkles on his lab coat. "That's twice I've beaten you today, Mr. DeSoto. The next time shall be the last."

The doctor turned around and faced Dixie again.

"As I was saying," he started. Dixie recoiled in disgust as her excuse for a husband looked at her. His eyes were terribly hungry and she didn't like it; not one bit.

"I won't do anything for you," she mumbled defiantly.

Derek laughed. "Well, you want your friends' freedom, don't you? If so, you must pay the price I set down for you." he asked. Dixie sighed and looked down at the floor. What could she do? She certainly didn't want any harm to befall her best friends.

"What?" she rasped.

Derek paused for a moment, his face expressionless. Dixie waited nervously, waiting to hear the stipulations of this exchange he sought after. Would he kill her? Rape her? If so, she wanted him to do it in that order. Dixie heard nothing but her own heartbeat and Derek's labored breathing. She couldn't look him the eye; she didn't have the courage.

It was at that moment that Derek lunged forward and grabbed her shoulders, throttling her violently.

"I want to know where my son is!" he shouted in her face. Dixie fell back on the leather couch in the center of the room, holding her arms up in defense.

"What?" she demanded.

Derek's eyes were aflame with fury. "You know what I'm talking about! Where is he?"

Dixie's tempered flared up and she sat forward.

"You should know!" she growled, "I gave him away! He was adopted by a mother and a father who loved him!"

Derek pushed his face closer to Dixie's, his hands tightening on her shoulders.

"Who adopted him? Tell me, or I swear to God I will have my men tear out your friends' innards right here, right now!"

Dixie went slack-jawed and shook her head, flinching away from her screaming husband.

"I don't know!" she said desperately, "It's up to the agency who adopts the child! I had no say in it and they never told me!"

Derek calmed only a little bit, backing away from Dixie and standing up straight. He stared at her, his eyes wide with insanity.

"Why?" he whispered, "Why? He was our son."

Dixie snorted. "That's precisely why I got rid of him," she muttered. Derek shook his head very slowly.

"Oh no," he argued, "That can't be. If he was truly yours and mine, you would've kept him. You knew I would've been able to tell whether or not the child was mine."

Dixie frowned. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?" she asked.

Derek took a step closer. "You got rid of the child because you knew I wasn't the father. That's it. I'll bet there was no resemblance at all and it scared you, didn't it? You had no choice. You knew I wasn't a fool, so you got rid of him. It's all clear now." every word slid off of his tongue like a snake, hissing and squeaking with craze.

Dixie's jaw was still slack and her eyebrows were raised as far as they would go.

"You're crazy!" she yelled out.

"Don't. Say. That!" Derek barked angrily, throttling her again.

Johnny and Roy tensed with fury every time Derek manhandled Dixie. Dixie regained her composure and backed away from her crazy husband.

"I got rid of the child because I wanted him to live a normal life with two parents and not one pre-occupied mother and a psycho-father! That's the lot of it!"

Derek sneered at her. "Liar!" he denied, "I'm no psycho! We could've raised our son and he would've had a perfect life!"

Dixie was utterly confused as to how Derek could out-and-out deny that he was crazy! Oh yes, that was right; crazy people didn't know they were crazy.

"It's the truth!" Dixie pleaded.

Derek glowered at his wife and crossed his arms. "Isn't it quite coincidental that after months of trying to get you knocked up, it doesn't happen until very shortly after you meet Kel Brackett? Very interesting."

Dixie was outraged. How could he? How dare he? The nerve!

"Kelly and I had nothing going when you and I were married! I was loyal, unlike you! You lied to me and cheated on me!"

"We still are married," Derek argued, "And you had it coming, sweetheart."

Dixie narrowed her eyes at the doctor. "You raped my best friend!" she shouted, "I had that coming, did I? You're a scoundrel! You lied to me, you beat me, you blamed me for all the bad things that occurred in my life! I had enough and left you. And you know what? Leaving you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Derek laughed right in her face.

"You would say that," he jeered, "Anything to justify the affair you had with Brackett."

Dixie cringed at Derek.

"I don't believe this," she murmured, "You knew I would never cheat you and yet you throw around false accusations. It's incredible."

Derek continued to heckle and stood akimbo.

"You had plenty of opportunity to roll around with Kel when I was gone," he said bluntly, "Especially the night you two met. You knew I was stoned out of my mind and couldn't keep a tab on your whereabouts. Perfect time to get the feel of another man's company."

Johnny and Roy watched and listened with shock and anger. This guy was nutso-mccrazy-face!

Dixie stood up and pushed Derek backwards.

"I'll admit I entertained the idea," she said with a smug grin, "I very well could have for all you cared. Kel had to drive you home, you were so drunk. I'll bet you made the rounds that night!"

Derek held his chest were Dixie had shoved him, obviously never having been pushed angrily by a woman before. "I'm just saying what appears to be the case. Less than a week after that very 'rowdy' night, you come to me telling me you're pregnant."

"It was a strange coincidence, yes," Dixie said, cocking an eyebrow, "Accidents happen. Any child of yours has to have been an accident."

Derek scowled at her. "Like I said, you had ample opportunity. I mean, look at you now. You're once again taking up with Kel." the doctor tsk-tsked and shook his head.

Dixie pursed her lips.

"You've had time to think about this, haven't you?" she asked quietly. Derek squeezed her upper arms and stared straight into her eyes.

"Nineteen years!" he shrieked.

Dixie flinched and looked away. Derek continued.

"I never ruled out the possibility of me not being the father of your child. It's the only possibility of why you got rid of him. There was no reason for you to give him away! He would've been ours! Raised perfectly and growing up to be a decent person."

"Is that why you're here?" Dixie questioned, "So you can have your revenge? If so, you're making a huge mistake. Kel isn't the father."

"Lies, all lies!" Derek refuted, "You and him ruined my life! You cheated on me and had no choice but to leave me when the child was born because you knew how disappointed I would've been when I found out he wasn't mine! And it's all because of Dr. Kelly Brackett. He never was good at staying away from other people's property."

Dixie could do nothing but stare in sorrow at the man she once loved. Why had this happened? Why?

"That's why I killed that one heart patient of Brackett's and injured the others. I paid them off to get Kel in jail and charged with homicide. It worked like a charm. Fools will do anything for money. Just think, ruining Kel's reputation, making him lose his job, and sending him to jail may be a small exchange for the pain he's caused me, but it is quite a sweet revenge indeed. Sweet revenge for fathering the child that should've been mine. For taking my wife away from me. For making me lose a son."

"You're one sick puppy," Dixie scorned, "What about Millie? You kill her too?"

Derek snorted in amusement. "Of course. She was always on the up and up when it came to hospital news and I couldn't risk her telling everyone what I had done. Of course I paid her to shut up, but she very foolishly voiced her concerns about the framing. Naturally, she had to be silenced for good."

Johnny raised his chin up and narrowed his eyes. "What about O'Brian? He was in on it too, wasn't he?"

Derek turned around and looked at the young paramedic.

"Very good," he said, impressed with the medic's ability to put two-and-two together.

"Yes, he was. O'Brian had the same 'love' for Kelly as I did and didn't mind seeing him behind bars. I have to say that the gobs of money and the ticket out of the country I promised him played a big part in it too. Alas, he got cold feet."

Roy's forehead creased in worry.

"You didn't-?" he couldn't finish his sentence.

Derek smiled sadistically. "Silence is a virtue…" he trailed off, walking to the closet door of the office and opening it. He reached down to a large black garbage bag that lay on the floor of the closet and dragged it out. He squatted down next to the form and pulled the bag down slightly. Mr. O'Brian's pale and mutilated face made Dixie gasp in horror and Johnny and Roy squint in disgust.

"…Shame it's a virtue that too few people possess."

Dixie started breathing harder, trying not to heave. "I can't-I don't…why in the name of God, Derek?"

Derek stood up and brushed his hands off.

"Not in the name of God," he murmured. "Apparently," Roy said dryly.

"In the name of revenge," Derek replied quietly.

Dixie threw her hands up in the air in surrender and shook her head. "Alright," she started, "Now that you've had your revenge, why don't you get the hell out of here and go kill yourself?"

"And let Kelly have you all to himself?" he asked. Dixie's eyes went round.

"I'm not going with you," she said firmly, "I'm no longer your wife or your property. No more, Derek."

Derek grabbed her arm and brought her close to him.

"You're still my wife and always will be!" he shouted, throwing her to the ground. Dixie landed hard but got right back up again, screaming in fury at her husband. She swung a fist at him and hit him in the mouth, but Derek's actions were swifter and more powerful.

He shoved her away forcefully and she hit her head on the edge of O'Brian's desk. She grunted in pain and lay limp on the floor, blood welling from the gash on her temple.

Johnny and Roy lurched forward. "Dix!" they shouted simultaneously.

Derek stared at her limp body on the ground for several moments before stalking up to Johnny and Roy.

"Hans, Phillip," he summoned the orderlies, "Show these men to the door. They won't go squealing to the authorities for they have no evidence. As far as the police will be concerned this is a silly domestic dispute."

Johnny wrestled against the orderly and craned his neck to look at Dixie.

"Just let us look at her," he begged, "She could be seriously injured!"

Their pleas were ignored as the two orderlies practically threw Johnny and Roy into the elevator outside of the office.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Johnny and Roy didn't waste any time in getting down to the police station to try and free Brackett. As they sped through traffic, Roy glanced over at Johnny, who was fishing his tape recorder from his pocket.

"Did you get it?" Roy asked urgently.

Johnny wound up the tape and nodded. "Sure did," he said with a grin, returning Roy's relieved look. "If Reed doesn't free Brackett now, I don't know what we're going to do," Roy muttered, pulling into the station parking lot.

When the two entered the station, they saw Reed putting his coat on, getting ready to leave.

"Reed!" Johnny called. Reed winced and turned around. "I'm about to clock out, so please don't hassle-" he stopped mid-sentence to stare in shock at the bruises on the medics' faces.

"Roses are red," Reed said snarkily, "Violets are blue…what the hell happened to you?"

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"You guys' faces!" Reed pointed out, his voice raising.

Johnny made a silent "o" with his mouth and nodded. "Yeah, that's part of why we came here," he replied. Reed put his head in his hands and groaned.

"What is it this time?" he demanded.

Johnny pulled out his tape recorder and clicked the play button. Reed hesitantly listened, but then his eyes grew wide. When the tape was done playing, he pointed to it.

"That a confession?"

Roy scoffed. "What do you think?" he retorted. Reed furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know…" he grumbled, "Those three victims of Brackett's called today and flat-out dropped the charges. It was unusual for sure, and you two could have staged that confession."

Johnny clapped his hands in front of Reed's face, making him blink.

"Hello!" he shouted, "Baker is a rapist and a three-time murderer and now he's holding Dixie hostage. Hell, we don't even know if she's still alive! Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Reed just stared at the two paramedics, silently debating with himself about what he should do. "Is he armed and dangerous?"

"Dangerous yes," Roy said, "Armed…I don't know. It's quite possible."

"Would he kill Dixie if a bunch of cops came breaking in to arrest him?" Reed pressed, still very thoughtful.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Johnny said with disgust. Reed sighed. This was going to be tough. "Sounds like Brackett knew him. Do you think the doc would be able to get Baker to let go of Dixie?"

Roy twisted his lip and shook his head. "We could try it, but Brackett might just make him angrier. After all, he's the reason Baker has done all this."

Reed nodded. "I know," he started, "But I want to try out the safest options first. If Brackett goes in there unarmed and calm, maybe he could make some progress. I know that a team of black-and-whites will just make Baker flip. And, if Brackett doesn't work, we'll just break in and do what we can."

Johnny and Roy exchanged concerned glances but then gave Reed the go-ahead.

"We better get to the hospital, then," Johnny said.

Reed then turned on his heel and led the medics to the prison block. He strutted down the hall purposefully, even on his bad ankle, and opened the door to Brackett's cell.

"Get out, doc," Reed ordered. The young doctor sat up and scratched his head.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Jesus Christ," Johnny said bluntly, "Don't you pigs let a guy shave?"

Reed cocked an eyebrow as Johnny pointed to the doctor, whose hair was disheveled and face bearded. "Let a criminal have a sharp razor?" Reed asked in outrage, "You're off your rudder!"

Dr. Brackett stood up and walked to the door. "Am I free?" he questioned.

Reed took a deep breath and frowned. "It's complicated," he replied, "I'm going to have to jump through some loopholes and dodge some obstacles to justify letting you out of your cage. But, we'll discuss that later. Right now, we need you."

Dr. Brackett gave the trip a confused look.

"Is Dix in some kind of trouble?" he inquired, getting worried. Johnny and Roy both nodded.

"Yes," Roy informed him, "Baker is holding her hostage in Mr. O'Brian's office and there's no telling what he might do to her. He confessed to three murders and paying off all the nurses. Not to mention his hate for you. Doc, he's done all this to you because he thinks you fathered Dixie's kid!"

Dr. Brackett rubbed his temples and then let his hands drop in utter bewilderment.

"What?" he barked, "You're not making any sense! Three murders, his hate for me, Dixie's kid? What are you talking about?"

Johnny waved him off and led him out of the cell and down the hall to the exit.

"We'll explain on the way," he said curtly, "Just hurry up and get into the squad!"

As they drove to the hospital, Johnny recapped Dixie and Baker's tales to Dr. Brackett. When he finished, the doctor still looked confused.

"Wait, wait," he said, trying to slow Johnny down, "So, Dixie gave her child up for adoption because she thought she and Baker were unfit to raise him?"

"Right," Johnny said.

"And Baker thinks that the reason Dixie got rid of the kid is because I was the father, not him?"

"Yes," Roy put in.

"And he killed Mr. Stewart in front of Sharon and told her to lie about it, and killed Millie and O'Brian because they wanted to squeal about the whole thing? And this is all because he thinks Dixie cheated him?"

"Yes!" Johnny and Roy snapped simultaneously.

"That's damn crazy!" Dr. Brackett shouted. Johnny nodded. "I know, right? Like, what the hell?"

Roy snorted. "Baker also paid those three other patients to let him botch their operations after they saw you and blame you for it. It worked, for the most part. But, I guess guilt overwhelmed them when they found out we suspected what had happened, and they dropped the charges to avoid any trouble."

Dr. Brackett rested his head in his hands and moaned.

"I just can't-I can't even…I don't even know what to say! This is insane!" he stammered.

"Just like Baker," Johnny added.

"So, you think I can talk to him?" Dr. Brackett asked.

Roy shrugged, eyes still on the road in front of him. "Reed said it's worth a shot. He's got black and whites coming behind us, sirens silent so as not to alert Baker of the fact we called the police. If you can't talk him out of it, Reed said the cops would handle it."

Roy pulled into the hospital parking lot and jerked the squad car to a stop.

"Alright," he ordered, "Let's haul ass up there and get Dix!"

The trio rushed into the hallway of emergency and headed straight for the elevator. Several staff turned their heads when they saw Brackett.

"Kel," Dr. Morton asked, "What are doing here?"

"Hey," Dr. Early broke in half-jokingly, "Who let you out of your cage?"

Brackett ignored them and waited for the elevator with Johnny and Roy. Everybody just stared, confused as to why a criminal had just strutted into the hospital like he owned the place. Suddenly, a woman's shout sounded from down the hall.

Johnny and Roy turned to see an old woman pointing directly at them and Brackett, Vince standing next to her.

"There he is, Officer!" the woman shrieked, "That criminal! He must have escaped!"

"Oh shit," Brackett muttered as Vince raced up to him, gun drawn.

"I'm sorry, doc," he said authoritatively, "You're going to have to come with me. How'd you get out?"

Johnny and Roy tried to plead with their friend.

"Vince, man," Johnny said, "You gotta let us go! This is important!"

Vince frowned. "You two helped him escape?"

Before either of them could answer, Dr. Brackett jumped forward and jerked Vince's arm up. The revolver went off in the air and Vince wrestled with the doctor.

Brackett held the officer's arms up and kneed him in the stomach, causing Vince to hunch over in pain. Brackett then bashed his elbow into the back of Vince's neck, making him collapse on the floor, unconscious. The onlookers gasped in horror and some staff rushed forward to apprehend the doctor. Brackett pried the 38. revolver from Vince's hand and pointed it at the people who were running towards him. The people froze and put their hands up in surrender.

"That's right," Brackett growled with a smirk, "Stay back. Good and far."

Johnny and Roy went slack-jawed and looked at each other in surprise.

At that moment, a "ding!" sounded and the elevator doors opened. The trio rushed in and practically pushed the passengers out. Brackett continued to hold the crowd at gunpoint until the elevator doors closed.

When they finally shut and the elevator ascended, Brackett pocketed the gun.

"Remind me not to make you mad," Johnny murmured, still taken aback at the young doctor's actions.

"Where'd you learn to hit like that?" Roy asked.

Brackett shrugged as he wrung his hands. "Dunno," he replied, "I guess at the right moment, it just comes natural."

"Not that natural," Johnny said disdainfully under his breath.

The rest of the ride upstairs was silent as the trio waited intently for the elevator to arrive at their designated floor.

The doors opened once again and they stepped out. Johnny and Roy took Brackett aside and explained a few important things to him.

"Now remember," Johnny warned, "Baker is a very mentally unstable man and is liable to hurt you at any given moment. Be careful about what you say around him."

Brackett gave him a curt nod. "Ten-four."

"Anything you have to say, Roy?" the doctor asked, gesturing his head towards the medic.

Roy stayed silent. "No," he finally said, "Just…watch yourself."

The three headed down the hall towards O'Brian's office, and paused outside the door.

"Baker!" Roy shouted, "Brackett is here and wants to talk to you?"

There were a few moments of silence and then the door whipped open. The two buff orderlies yanked them into the office and slammed the door shut.

Brackett recovered himself and stood up straight, only to find himself standing face-to-face with Derek Arthur Baker.

"Why aren't you in jail?" Derek asked sharply.

Brackett gave the man a half-grin.

"Why aren't you burning in hell right now?" he retorted.

Johnny and Roy could tell that it was taking considerable effort for Derek to restrain himself from practically killing the young doctor right there and then.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Derek hissed through his teeth.

"About why you framed me," Brackett snapped, "Your reason is petty and ill-advised. Not to mention completely devoid of the truth."

Derek cringed and shook his head.

"I thought by now you'd have been sentenced," he snarled, "Rotting in prison for the rest of your life and out of my way!"

"I was never in your 'way' to begin with. Your unreasonable hatred towards me is all in your head!"

Derek continued to grimace at Brackett. "It's not in my head!" he argued, "You took my wife from me! Isn't that reason enough to hate you?"

"Dixie was afraid of you! She had to give her child up and leave you! Who wouldn't have?" Brackett countered. "Afraid?" Derek echoed.

"Yes!" Brackett yelled, "Afraid of you because you're a psycho!"

Derek's eyes went as round as saucers and he punched the young doctor in the face. Brackett stood his ground and just wiped his mouth from the blow.

"Derek, please," he pleaded, "I can help you! Just give yourself up!" the doctor held his hand out to Derek but he refused.

"No! No!" he shouted, "You don't want to help me! You want to kill me! To take Dixie away from me! I won't let you!"

With that, Derek reached inside of his lab coat and yanked out a pistol. Dr. Brackett raised his eyebrows and took one step back. Roy and Johnny stiffened, not sure what to do.

"I don't know why I haven't killed you yet," Derek said, breathing heavily with rage, "I very well could have. In fact, I should have."

"Then why don't you?" Brackett grumbled.

Derek smiled and narrowed his eyes. "A quick death is too good for you. I want you to suffer like I did for nineteen years."

Dr. Brackett huffed. "When you've made me suffer, then will you be happy? No, the revenge you want can't be fulfilled. You'll always be the same bitter person you've been for your entire life."

Derek snickered, his pistol still pointed at the young doctor.

"Ah, wise young Kelly Brackett. You always had an answer for everything, always some smart-alecky comeback," he sneered, "You were at the top of the class, Mr. Popular!"

Brackett rolled his eyes. "It takes effort to be well-admired, you know."

"You also had girls crawling all over you," Derek snorted, "It was ridiculous."

"I rather enjoyed it," Brackett joked lightheartedly.

"If only you had stayed away from my wife," Derek muttered harshly. Dr. Brackett crossed his arms and tilted his head wryly.

"There's a glass of 'shut the hell up' on the desk over there," Dr. Brackett said matter-of-factly, "Why don't you sit down and have some? It might do you some good, all the mouthing-off you've been doing. It might not do any good to say so, but I never had a relationship with Dixie until we both started working here at Rampart."

"You're a filthy liar! You always were. You unsympathetic wretch!" Derek spat.

"You're crazy," Brackett said quietly.

"You never even tried seeing things from my point of view!" Derek argued, gesturing angrily with his pistol.

Dr. Brackett screwed up his nose at that remark.

"I tried seeing things from your point of view, but you know what? I couldn't get my head that far up my ass!" he snapped.

Derek, his face still red with anger, lunged towards the young doctor and turned him around, pointing a gun to his temple.

"Enough from you!" Derek barked.

He raised his chin to summon Johnny and Roy. "You want your precious doctor alive for much longer? Well then get me what I came here for in the first place: Dixie's son. I'm giving you until this time tomorrow to find her son and bring him to me. If you fail, I'll blow Brackett's brains out, like he deserves!"

Derek held the young doctor's arm behind his back, shoving the barrel of the gun closer to his head.

"Now get out!" he shouted, "And don't get any ideas. You can tell your little cop friends out there that I have this entire floor rigged with explosives. So if they try to break in here and nab me, they can count on this whole hospital going up in flames."

Brackett chuckled. "Because very few personal problems can't be solved through the suitable application of high explosives."

Johnny and Roy both scowled at Baker and stormed out to the elevator.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Roy and Johnny exited the hospital just in time to stop some police officers who were rushing in through the emergency receiving doors.

"Stop!" Johnny shouted grabbing one of the men and pushing him backwards.

"You can't go in there!" he yelled.

"Why not?" Malloy asked, holding his shotgun close to his chest.

"Because Baker's got the whole sixth floor rigged with explosives! He said if he sees anybody but us up there, he'll blow this whole place up!"

Malloy frowned and gestured for the other cops to circle around him.

"Report back to Mac. It sounds like we can't make a move just yet." the cops nodded and ran back outside.

"Come with me," Malloy ordered Roy and Johnny.

The medics followed Malloy outside to the parking lot where several black-and-white police cars were parked, lights flashing. Men in black with guns were everywhere and Johnny spotted engine Fifty-one.

Captain Stanley saw Roy and Johnny and ran over to them.

"Are you two alright? Looks like you got a beating," he noted. Johnny nodded and rubbed his chin.

"We sure did," he replied, "That Baker is a bowl full of assorted nuts!"

Malloy turned to Stanley and looked up at the tall captain. "Hank," he started, "You and your men stand by. We got a report that the sixth floor of this building has been set with bombs. In case our friend upstairs goes North, I want your crew to be ready to put out a blaze and maybe help evacuate the hospital."

Stanley nodded. "Ten-four," he said.

Malloy gestured to Mac to come over. Sergeant MacDonald strutted up to Malloy and looked back and forth between Johnny and Roy.

"So you two are the ones that smooth-talked Reed into letting Brackett go? You got him into a heap of trouble and you guys are going to be the same."

Malloy put his hand up for silence.

"Mac, these men have vital information on our suspect. According to them, this Baker guy is a real psycho,"

Mac crossed his arms. "I know," he grumbled, "Reed told me all about it. I know what needs to be done, and so do you two."

Johnny and Roy exchanged confused glances and then turned back to the sergeant.

"But Mac!" Johnny argued, "Baker knows that locating Dixie's son will be impossible! That's why he gave that particular task to us. It only gives him even more of a chance to kill Dix and Brackett!"

Mac raised one eyebrow. "Impossible? There's only a couple adoption agencies in the whole city and all you have to do is go to the biggest one down on Harrison and ask them about Dixie Baker's son. They keep records on that stuff you know. Granted, they're not allowed to show it to you, but I'll send Wells down with you to let them know that this is an urgent situation."

"No kidding?" Roy asked.

Mac snorted. "No kidding."

Johnny shrugged and looked at his paramedic partner. "Then we better find Wells and get going!"

Mac gestured over to a black-and-white across the lot, which had both the driver's side and passenger's side doors open. A short, blonde-haired man was standing behind the driver's side door, his shotgun cocked and ready to fire.

Johnny and Roy exchanged glances quickly as they approached the man.

"You Wells?" Roy asked.

Officer Ed Wells looked up at the redheaded paramedic and smiled briefly, his usual self-confident grin.

"Ed Wells, that's me. What canneye do for you fellas?" he replied, standing up straight and holding his shotgun relaxed at his side.

Johnny jerked his head back towards Mac and narrowed his eyes.

"Mac wants you to take us down to the adoption agency down on Harrison," he informed the bewildered officer.

Wells frowned. "Huh?" he said aloud, "Adoption agency? What, he finally decide to can me? What Mac doesn't seem to realize, is that I'm of legal age and can no longer be adopted out."

Roy was angered at his response. Who was this wise guy? If he was trying to be funny, it wasn't working. Roy and Johnny were in a hurry and Wells wasn't helping.

"We'll explain once you get in the car and take us there," Roy growled.

Wells shrugged and got into the driver's seat, while Johnny and Roy got in the back.

As they drove, Johnny leaned over to Roy and said in a low voice, "Wouldn't it be easier to call them?"

Roy shook his head.

"No," he said, "The agency isn't allowed to give us any information regarding the children or families involved in the adoption. Especially, over the phone."

Johnny nodded, a look of sudden understanding crossing his thin face. "Makes sense," he said, pursing his lips.

Roy chuckled, "Besides, the way I figure it, once those ladies down there see Wells, I'm pretty sure they'll give us exactly what we want."

Wells looked in the rearview mirror at Johnny and Roy.

"You two looking to adopt?" he asked, his face stoic. Johnny looked clueless and Roy cringed.

"What do you think?" he snapped.

"I don't know," Wells said with a grin, "You two look like you could play for the other team. Especially him." As Wells spoke the latter, he gestured his head towards Johnny, who then scowled.

"Good God," Roy swore, "If you must know, we're trying to locate our friend's son."

Wells looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sure you aren't two pansies looking to adopt? I've seen it before. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he said sarcastically.

Johnny rolled his eyes and Roy ignored Wells. How did Reed and Malloy stand this man?

"Roy?" Johnny whispered, not wanting to drag Wells into the discussion again, "What if this agency is the wrong one?"

Roy once again, shook his head. "Plausible, but not likely. I've been doing some math in my head, and it seems that the agency down on Harrison Boulevard was here first. The other homes and agencies were established awhile after Dixie had her son. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I think it's reasonable to assume the one we're going to now is the right one."

Johnny sighed disdainfully, "No, I think you're right…as usual."

Roy glanced out the window of the moving vehicle. "I sure hope Dixie and Dr. Brackett will be alright."

Johnny didn't reply; he knew the stakes were high. At this point, he figured Baker would do whatever he damn well wanted…like he always did. So, if he wanted to knock off Brackett or Dix, he'd probably do so without hesitation. It worried Johnny to think about it. He could feel Roy's anxiety about the whole situation. Perhaps he'd walk into the office, empty-handed, to find Dixie with her head shot up and Brackett dead right next to her. He tried to banish such thoughts, but anxiety kept rearing its ugly head and there wasn't much the paramedic could do about it.

"Last stop, boys," Wells broke in.

The car jerked to a stop and Wells put it in park. Johnny and Roy hopped out of the vehicle and approached the front door of the worn-down one-story building.

Johnny stepped ahead of Roy and Wells to open the glass door for them.

"I don't know if I can talk to another lady behind a desk," he confessed, "You might have to do all the talking, Roy."

Roy smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way," he said slyly. Johnny dropped his jaw in confusion. Did Roy not trust him to use his words wisely? Yeah, that was it.

As they entered the building, they were met with a very musty smell. It was cool and dampish in the foyer of the building. The air had a wet-laundry aroma to it. Like an all-too-fresh hotel room. The shrewish woman who sat at the front desk didn't even look up to acknowledge them.

"Ma'am," Wells said, resting his arms on the desk front, "These men would like to ask you a few questions. I'm hoping you'll oblige them."

"Mister-" she started as she looked up through her thick glasses. Once she spotted the badge on Wells' chest, she stopped herself.

"Yes," she said, blinking several times, "What can I help you two with?"

Roy inwardly grinned; it was amazing what a blue uniform and a shiny badge could do to a person's attitude.

Roy carefully pushed Wells aside to talk to the woman.

"I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Dixie Baker and her son?" he inquired. The woman hesitated.

"I'm not allowed to show you any records or divulge the names of the people in the records."

"DeSoto," Wells said softly, stepping back in front of the paramedic.

He leaned on the desk and sighed, looking down. He then looked the woman square in the face and his forehead creased in worry.

"Miss," he said firmly, "These men are in a hurry and this is an urgent situation. Two people's lives are at stake and if we don't see those records, well…let's just say that I'm sure you don't want two people's deaths on your conscience."

The woman paused and stared at Wells for a very long time. She then pushed her office chair back and got up and walked to another room, presumably to retrieve the records off of the computer.

Roy and Johnny displayed no joy at Wells' success, although he himself was pretty smug about it. Wells was a fairly competent officer; he did what he was told, for the most part. Maybe Macdonald, Reed, Malloy and those guys didn't approve of his attitude, but he hadn't been suspended yet. Unlike Malloy, who got suspended for beating a child rapist. True story.

Wells might have done the same thing, but then again, he'd never had a child rapist run away from him. Those criminals saw Wells strutting towards them and they knew he meant business. Yup, Wells was born with the L.A.P.D. handbook in his arms. Figuratively, of course, but Wells didn't exactly know the circumstances of his birth. Or even if he been born like everyone else. Perhaps he was conceived of dust like Adam at the beginning of the world or born of a virgin like the Son? Wells grinned at the thought. Come on, to be as skilled as he was in Law Enforcement, one had to have had unique origins.

Wells had never known his real parents. The only thing he knew during his childhood was an orphanage. His stomach sunk in and his heart dropped when he looked around at the agency building. He'd been here. He remembered smelling this musty foyer when he was finally adopted out. All the paperwork, all the hassle, the coldness of his new parents. That chair in the corner he'd sat in, waiting to be picked up. Wondering what his new family would look like. They were well-to-do folks with no children of their own. Their steely demeanor had perturbed Wells at first, but they had warmed up to him pretty quickly.

He remembered how long it took him to grow accustomed to his fancy new dwelling. Wells also thought of his first encounter with the business of Law Enforcement. It was grisly, disturbing, and heart-breaking all wrapped into one horrific bundle. He reminisced the scenario in his head as he waited for the receptionist to come back with the records. He wasn't aware that he was staring off into space, and making Johnny and Roy very uncomfortable.

"Ed?" Johnny questioned, "You alright?"

Wells didn't respond. He was lost in events that happened long-ago, long before he had become a cop. Long before he knew he wanted to fight for justice. He was walking down the spiral stairs in the dark, hearing nothing but the sound of his own heart-beating. The moon shone through the enormous picture windows, casting light on a gut-wrenching scene. His rich new parents of only six-months were sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs, blood staining their bedclothes. A man with a gun, a broken window, no tears. Then it was a cop, several cops, the police station….the orphanage? Pictures flashed through Wells' mind in a rush. A young detective, fresh off being a flatfoot, took pity on Wells. Took him into his home, raised him with his own kids, taught him everything he knew about policing. It was a beautiful last half of his childhood; a loving mother, a firm, yet gentle father.

The same man who raised Wells in his own image, had died in a gunfight with the murderer of Wells' previous parents. The role of justice-seeker had fallen on the young academy cop. Avenger, upholder of the law, badge-toter. Whatever you wanted to call Wells, he was a cop to the bone. He had single-handedly apprehended his parents' murderer. Brought him in, testified against him, watched him die. It was an achievement for Wells…one that would be burned into his mind for a million years.

Wells now inwardly debated whether or not forbidding his own children from pursuing Law Enforcement as a career was a wise idea. His wife thought it was a wise decision for their children, and to an extent, he agreed. Their kids had their parents, they had no reason to be thirsty for justice. But maybe Ricky had shown some interest in becoming a cop…yes, he had potential-

"Ed!" Roy practically yelled.

Wells jerked right out of his thoughts and shook his head to clear it.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" he asked in a panic. Johnny looked a little miffed.

"We have the information we need, let's get going! We thought you were having a mini-seizure or something." he explained.

Wells suddenly realized how little time he took to think about serious things. Malloy told him the exact same thing: "When was the last time you thought about something, Ed? Do you just run on a spur of the moment instinct? Well let me tell you, that doesn't fly around here. When you're under gunfire, sure, you have to think quick, but notice how I mentioned 'think'. That's your problem, you don't think; about anything, about anyone. You only care about yourself and your sick need for some perversion of 'justice'. Your version of what a cop should be isn't what this department needs. So either straighten up and fly right or get yourself killed. Personally, I think it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars if you went and got yourself shot up."

Wells had foolishly brushed Pete off. But come to think about it, maybe the guy was right? Was Wells too smug, too overzealous? Too…angry? About what? The past? That couldn't be. What happened before was now history. There was no need to revisit it…or was there? These questions bounced around in Wells' head as he got into the car.

"Where to?" he asked absent-mindedly.

Johnny looked at the piece of paper Roy held in his hand. "The CHP training academy. The day will be wrapping up soon and people will be heading back to their dorms soon. We'd like to catch…'Jon Baker'…before he leaves."

Wells nodded and stomped on the gas; he knew the place, and the quickest way to get there.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"You're a damn fool," came the muttered remark from Dr. Kelly Brackett. Honestly, he had no place insulting Baker, seeing as his head was the next target of a 38. Revolver. A very loaded 38. Revolver.

The young doctor's mind had drifted towards the gun in his pocket the moment Johnny and Roy had left, but Baker spotted the weapon and had confiscated it.

"No more a fool than you are, Kelly," Baker spoke calmly, his rear planted on O'Brian's desk and his hand tightly gripping his revolver. He played around with the idea of pulling the trigger, but he didn't want a mess on his hands…not yet, anyway. He wanted to see if Gage and DeSoto were as resourceful as they claimed to be. Could they deliver his wife's son to him? Part of him wished to see Dixie's son, but the other half of him feared it. What would he see? A carbon copy of his worst enemy, or a blonde-haired, robust, charismatic young man like Baker himself? His heart desired such a surprise, but his mind kept drifting back to Kelly Brackett. The more he thought of his hatred towards the man, the itchier his trigger finger got.

"For your sake, Kelly," Baker started, "Dixie's son better be blonde."

Dr. Brackett rolled his eyes. "No wonder you failed as a doctor," he said, grinning with sweet satisfaction, "If you knew anything about basic genetics, you'd know very well that even if I was the father, the kid might not have my characteristics. It's quite possible he would be blonde anyway."

Baker narrowed his eyes. "I'm doubtful of that, Dr. Brackett," he said in a sinister tone, "If that was the case, Dixie may have been able to palm him off as my son. No, if my suspicions are correct, that brat didn't look a thing like me. And you're going to get your skull blasted in because of it."

Brackett sighed. "You'd knock me off either way. That's just part of your twisted nature, Derek."

Baker nodded in agreement, "You're right. I might kill you anyway. After all, I have no use for you. I could let you die, your name being synonymous with murder. It's a perfect plot, if you think about it."

Brackett didn't say another word. His eyes were still too focused on the limp figure of Dixie lying on the floor. He knew she was alive, he could see her back rising and falling in the tiniest bit. Her breathing sounded raspy, which worried him. If what Gage and DeSoto said was true, Dix must have hit her head pretty hard. Baker was a strong man and could easily kill a person with his bare hands. He'd done it before.

That particular thought brought the young doctor back to the murder of Mr. Raphael Stewart.

"Derek?" Brackett inquired, his back still turned to the barrel of the revolver.

"Speak quickly, Kelly," Baker said, his voice laced with annoyance.

Brackett paused for a moment before continuing.

"Just how the hell did my fingerprints get on the murder weapon?"

Baker smiled and shifted on the desk.

"You see Kelly," he said, clearing his throat, "I don't even need your fingerprints to stage the perfect murder. A big wad of the green stuff waved under the noses of a few crime lab scientists is all I really needed for a genius frame-up."

"You've got everything figured out, don't you?" Kelly spat.

Baker laughed aloud, "I'm a more influential man than you give me credit for, Doctor."

Dr. Brackett snorted in disgust.

"More crooked than I gave you credit for, anyway," he growled.

Baker cocked an eyebrow.

"Perhaps," he murmured, "But you know what, Dr. Brackett? You talk far too much for my liking. And that, my friend, will be your downfall."

Dr. Brackett went silent, thinking about Baker's erratic personality; what was next?

"What are you going to do?" he challenged, "Kill me now?"

Baker stood up, his revolver still aimed at the young doctor.

"Kelly," he said again, "Surely you suspect me of possessing more tact than that? No, killing you now would be silly. As the cat teases the mouse before he kills it, I too, shall keep you guessing as to when your demise shall take place. And on that note, I have changed my mind."

"About what?" Brackett inquired, not waiting to be surprised by the psycho's answer.

"About the time you have left to live. Your propensity to smart off has earned you no favors. Remember that as you lay dying, Kelly Brackett!"

With that, Baker wrapped Brackett in a chokehold with one arm and used the other to press the barrel of the revolver against the doctor's head.

"Let's go let those badge-toters out there know that they have little time left to save you."

Baker dragged Brackett outside of the office, and grinned at the waiting police officers. The officers reached for their guns, but Baker stopped them.

"Ah-ah," he warned them, patting the trigger with his finger, "One move and his brains go everywhere, preferably on those blue uniforms of yours."

The two cops in the hall exchanged glances and faltered in hovering their hands over their guns.

Brackett grit his teeth and tensed.

"They'll get you. And they can shoot me to do it if they have to," he snapped through Baker's chokehold.

Baker chuckled, "I know old martyr Kelly Brackett would want that to happen, but you see, those officers, for some obscure reason are obliged to protect civilian life. And for that reason, they will not shoot, not as long as you're in front of me. Although I don't know why. You're a wanted criminal that shouldn't have been let out of his cage."

"I haven't been convicted. Innocent until proven guilty," Brackett argued, "Or is it the other way around in your world, Baker? Judge, jury, and executioner, huh?"

Brackett could feel the rushes of air coming from Baker as he breathed angrily, infuriated by his smart mouth.

One of the officers spoke, "Talk, Baker."

"Of course," he said politely, "I want you to let those two paramedics and every single officer down there know that my prisoners now have six hours left to live."

Wells leaned against the car as Gage and DeSoto sat on the hood, waiting for classes to let out.

"You think he'll come?" Johnny asked.

Wells scoffed. "Listen Gagey-baby," he said, "Officer Mulligan said that this was Jonathan Arthur Baker's car. Of course he'll come. And if he doesn't I'll have it towed. Then he'll definitely come."

Roy gave Johnny a mild look and Johnny smirked. Wells was pretty practical.

"It's kind of interesting that Derek's own brother, Chad, raised him." Johnny said suddenly. Wells glanced over at the paramedic and raised an eyebrow.

"What? You think the agency wouldn't look for possible relatives?"

Johnny frowned. "I don't know," he admitted, "But it's crazy to think that Derek was so close to Jon that whole time."

Roy shook his head, "Johnny," he said, "There's no doubt in my mind that Chad knew Derek was crazy. If he didn't, Derek would have known Jon was being raised by Chad. When Chad was called up to come get Jon, he probably knew the circumstances concerning his abandonment. Any sensible spouse of Derek's would most definitely have given up their kid if it meant saving them from an alcoholic, psychotic father. Dixie did the right thing."

Wells chuckled softly to himself.

"Poor guy. Probably won't believe us when we tell him this whole sob story."

Roy scowled at Wells. "It'll be hard for him. I hate having to do this to him. School's probably going hard for him. Just being out of the army and all and training to be a cop. This'll just add to all his stress."

Wells shrugged, his arms crossed. "Life is just one big crap sandwich sprinkled with bits of sugar, and bits of arsenic. For some people though, that ol' crap-sandwich is just stuffed full of arsenic."

Johnny and Roy nodded simultaneously; no truer words had ever been spoken.

Suddenly, Wells stood up straight.

"I think this is him," he said, almost excitedly.

A tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed student came walking towards the parking lot, a bag of books slung over his shoulder. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a cop leaning on his car.

He furrowed his brow and approached the three men.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he questioned. Johnny and Roy breathed sighs of relief. They knew from the moment he spoke that this was Dixie and Derek's son. He had Dixie's soft eyes and voice and Baker's looks and suspicious demeanor.

Wells nodded, "Sure can," he replied, "Your father wants to see you."

Jon looked confused. "You mean my uncle?"

Wells shook his head. "No," he argued, "Your father."

Roy stepped forward to clear things up. God, he hoped he could make this as easy as possible on poor Jon.

"Jon," he started, "You don't know us, but we know you. You're the son of Derek Arthur Baker and Dixie McCall. Right now, your father is holding your mother and her fiancé hostage in a hospital and is going to kill them if he doesn't see you."

Jon blinked and dropped his jaw.

"Bullshit," he barked, "Chad never said he had a brother."

Johnny leaned forward.

"I know this must be hard for you, but the adoption agency told us that Derek Arthur Baker was Chad Baker's brother. You were adopted by Chad."

Jon narrowed his eyes and dropped his book bag next to the car.

"You're not putting me on, are you?" he asked.

Wells huffed. "Like the guy said, we know this is hard for you, but I wouldn't be here if two people's lives weren't at stake."

Jon cringed and looked down.

I always knew Chad as 'Uncle'…never knew he was in actual relation to me. Hell, I knew I was adopted…but to know my real father is alive, and is related to Uncle Chad. I can't…"

Roy put his hand on Jon's shoulder and looked him square in the eyes.

"Chad knew your father was unstable. That's why he adopted you and hid you from him. You should be thankful that your uncle did that. He spared you a lot of grief. But, I'm afraid you'll have to face your father now. He wants desperately to see you, and like I said, he'll kill your mother if he doesn't."

Jon didn't say anything; he was trying to make sense of this whole situation. His mother? But wait, did his sister-er…cousin, know this? What did his mother and father look like? Wait, his father was crazy?

All of a sudden, the radio in the police car crackled to life.

"One-Adam-Thirteen, One-Adam-Thirteen, switch to Tac 2." the dispatcher said.

Wells reached into the squad and grabbed the communicator.

"One-Adam-Thriteen, switching to Tac 2," he replied, switching the frequency.

"Wells here, what is it Mac?"

Sergeant MacDonald spoke through the com. "Wells, let Gage and DeSoto know that they have six hours left to deliver Baker's son. Last time Baker was spotted, he had a gun to the doctor's head. I wouldn't dilly-dally."

"Roger that, Mac," Wells said, "I'll let 'em know."

Wells looked up and frowned at Roy and Johnny. "Gage, DeSoto," he summoned, "We need to get going. Baker's going to kill Brackett and McCall in six hours. It's gonna be a long drive back, so we better start now."

Roy and Johnny nodded, grabbing Jon and pulling him towards the squad car.

"But, my car-" Jon broke in. "Forget it, we'll come back for it later!" Roy argued.

Wells backed quickly out of the parking lot, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Dixie pushed herself off of the floor and groaned. She rubbed the back of her head and pulled her hand away, seeing sticky red blood covering her hand. She flinched as she tried to put pressure on the wound and gasped as pain shot through her neck.

"Dix!" she heard the deep voice of Kelly call out to her. She felt his strong hands gently grab her shoulders and sit her back down.

"How are you doing?" he asked, pulling her hair back and looking at the bloody gash on the back of her head. He squinted against the look of the wound and looked Dixie in the eyes.

"Can you see alright?"

Dixie closed her eyes briefly and then opened them and nodded.

"Yeah-uh," she mumbled.

"She's alright," Baker scoffed snidely, "I've beat sense into her enough times before to know how to not kill her."

Dr. Brackett cringed in disgust at Baker's words and whipped around to face him.

"I wouldn't doubt it," he growled, standing up and flicking the blood off of his hands.

Dixie stood up as well and then plopped down in the office chair that had been shoved to the center of the room.

She kept rubbing the back of her head as she glanced over at Baker's orderlies. Goodnight, they were buff alright. She then remembered Johnny and Roy; were they alright?

Brackett walked over to Dixie and took a bandanna out of his pocket to press against the wound on her head.

Dixie gasped out a laugh, "God, that's the ugliest damn bandanna I've ever seen."

Dr. Brackett furrowed his brow and looked at it. "What?" he demanded, "It's orange."

Dixie shook her head the slightest bit. "Kelly, when we get married, I'm going through your wardrobe and throwing everything out."

Brackett smiled and then chuckled.

"The pinstripe suit stays. My father bought that for me." he joked. Baker watched them from his seat on the desk and craned his neck and called over to them.

"You two are going to be dead, there's no point in dressing wounds now."

Dixie scowled at him.

"Oh, shove it up your ass, Derek." she said flatly.

Baker narrowed his eyes and continuing staring at her. "I always hated your filthy mouth, Dixie."

Dixie rolled her eyes, "You honestly think I'm bad? You should've heard some of the stuff you said when you came home drunk all those times. Cursed a blue streak, you did."

Dr. Brackett couldn't help but crack a grin at that remark; he'd known Dixie long enough to have been accustomed to her colorful language. He sure hoped Johnny and Roy had never heard her swear. That'd probably make Johnny turn pale…which wasn't common for someone of his Native American descent to do.

Baker suddenly changed the subject.

"The clock is ticking, my dear." he said sadistically, tapping the revolver on his lap.

Brackett huffed. "I always wanted to die from a gunshot wound, but couldn't you use a rifle instead? There's something cheap and classless about a stolen 38. Police special. And I'd prefer to be shot in the stomach, not the head. Dying dramatically would be more my style. What about you Dix?"

Dixie just didn't get Kelly's sense of humor. But, something told her he was seriously considering the circumstances of his own death. She just looked down.

"I'd rather we not talk about it," she murmured. "But, if I'm going to die, I want to die first. I don't want to see you get shot."

Brackett snorted, "That's the point of my slow death!" he argued, "I need to get out my last words and then collapse in your arms."

"But I want to die in your arms!" Dixie snapped.

Kelly laughed out loud. "We're not even married yet and we're having our first argument! And about death, no less."

Dixie rested her head on Kelly's shoulder and sighed, now depressed more than ever about this whole ordeal.

Baker screwed up his nose in jealousy.

"You're not going to get married, Dixie," he barked, "And you're doing your level best to stall."

Dixie gave him her fiercest side eye.

"Stall you? No, Derek. It's a waste of my time."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Johnny and Roy sat in the back seat, waiting impatiently for Wells to pull the car up to their destination. Jon sat up front in the passenger's seat, shifting uncomfortably.

"You nervous?" Wells asked, not glancing away from the road.

Jon nodded. "Yeah," he confessed, "What will my dad think of me?"

Wells shrugged. He wish he knew what Jon felt like. Deep down, Wells wished he'd met his real father. It was a desire he'd carried around with him for his whole life. Did he look more like his mother or his father? What happened to them? Did they die? Was he a bastard? Is that why he was given up for adoption?

"Doesn't really matter," Wells finally replied, "Your father's going to jail."

Jon sighed, looking down at the book bag on his lap. "Yeah, I'd guess so."

"It's a shame," Wells said empathetically, "He'd of been a successful man, it seems, if he hadn't chosen the path he did."

Johnny twisted his lip skeptically. "From what Roy and I were able to deduce, Baker was always unstable."

Jon turned his head to look back at the two paramedics.

"What about my mother?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

Roy looked the young officer-in-training steady in the eyes.

"Your mother is a wonderful woman, Jon. She helps save lives everyday and told me herself she never wanted to give you up."

Jon made a disgusted face. "Then why did she? She could have kept me."

Johnny ran his hand through his thick black hair and exhaled.

"She only did what she thought would be best for you. You were given a good home, you were raised by decent, well-to-do people, and now are on your way for making a career for yourself. Those are things she knew she could never give you. Your mother told us that she thinks about you everyday, wondering what happened to you."

Jon looked thoughtful as Wells' chest grew tight at Johnny's words. This entire scenario just made him question every aspect of his childhood. She did what she thought was best for you. Those words meant something to Wells. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"She could of easily left you in a dumpster," Roy added, "That seems to be the trend for a lot of mothers nowadays."

Johnny looked at Roy and gave a curt nod of agreement, "Yes. But Dixie isn't like a lot of those mothers. She's a loving, caring person. She's fierce, protective. She loved you very much and it almost killed her to give you up for adoption. She always wanted children, but her situation then just didn't permit it. She'll be so happy to see you again, Jon. It will mean the world to her. I hope you know that. So please, try not to be too hard on her. She's already beat herself up about it."

Jon paid attention to the paramedic's words; perhaps his mother would be glad to see him. After all, Jon's life had been nothing short of happy. He could've ended up in an array of different living conditions, but he only got the best. What his mother would've wanted.

Dixie wrung her hands nervously, wondering how soon Johnny and Roy would arrive. Would they have her son? Did they fail in their mission? No, that couldn't be. Those two paramedics had come so far since Kelly had been arrested. They'd helped prove him innocent, they'd uncovered Baker's plot. There was no way that they'd fail now.

Dixie sighed impatiently and crossed her arms, her head and neck still throbbing in pain. She glanced over at Kelly, who was sitting in another office chair next to her. The setting sun lit up the entire office through the large picture windows, outlining the profile of his face.

His hands were clasped and his fingers were pressed to his lips thoughtfully. His blue eyes stared out across the city, undoubtedly millions of thoughts racing through his mind. Perhaps he was worrying about the same things Dixie was. Would Roy and Johnny succeed? If so, would Baker kill them anyway?

Dixie reached over to him and squeezed his arm. Brackett jerked from his thoughts and looked at her, his eyes softening.

"You holding up alright?" he asked.

Dixie nodded; in reality, it was just the opposite. She was dying with anxiety inside.

"Kelly," she started, then hesitated. "I just got to thinking…it was wrong of me to keep all this from you."

Kelly frowned in confusion. "How do you mean?"

Dixie let out a long breath. "When we started getting serious in our relationship, I knew I should have told you about Derek. About my son, about everything."

Kelly touched her face and shrugged slightly.

"Nah, I already knew about Derek being a nut job. I just never figured he'd come after me. I suppose that's more my fault than anything. I was the one that got him pissed."

Dixie shook her head. "I should have confided in you…I was just…so afraid of losing you. I didn't think you'd want to marry a woman like me. A woman with a crazy ex-husband and a troubled past."

Kelly laughed softly. "Dix," he replied, "You know it'd take more than a crazy ex-husband and a checkered past to drive me away from you."

Dixie looked at him, now wondering why she was ever worried.

"Kel Brackett, you never were very smart," she said with a grin, looking up to kiss him. Kelly leaned down, kissed her, and then pulled away slightly.

"I've probably told you this before, in fact, I know I have, but a man would have to be crazy not to want you."

They kissed again, and Baker caught sight of them. He cringed and stood up.

"For the love of God, Dixie, cut out your licentious behavior."

Brackett gave Derek a mild look. "Derek, stop being an asshole. You always were such a jealous prick."

Dixie raised her eyebrows; That was the first time she'd ever heard Kelly use language like that towards anyone besides Dr. Early. It was okay with Dr. Early, because it was always in good fun. But Derek Baker? He wasn't going to get away with it.

Baker slowly approached Dr. Brackett, his revolver in his right hand. His intense eyes were dark with rage and his hands were clenched.

"You had better watch your tone with me, Kelly," he warned, his voice a barely audible growl. "This gun's liable to go off at any moment."

The squad car burst into the parking lot, just as the stars had come out above the city of Los Angeles. The flashing lights added to the glare of the hospital lot, which was still illuminated with red and blue.

"That must be Wells," Pete said dryly, "I'd know that heavy foot of his anywhere. Nearly rear-ended me on more than one occasion."

Sergeant MacDonald only gave a noncommittal grunt as he approached the car. Wells got out of the driver's seat and slammed the door, walking over to the passenger's side to make sure Jon got out. Roy and Johnny followed, concerned looks on their faces. Had Baker finally crossed the line?

"Are they still…?" Roy couldn't finish his question. Mac let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes…but not for much longer. You better get up there quick. We'll send an HT with you, so you can give us the go ahead, alright DeSoto?"

Roy blinked and stared at the sergeant.

"G-go ahead?" he stammered in confusion. Malloy frowned.

"Yes," he replied, "We need to know when our boys can go in there and nab Baker. He's not getting away, however much he thinks he is."

Johnny studied Jon for a moment and then turned to Mac.

"You know," he said slowly, "I don't think Baker plans on getting away. I don't think he'd do it."

Roy cringed. "Well, he's certainly not going to turn himself in, either."

Jon put his hands up to silence the two paramedics. "I'll talk to him about it. Maybe he'll listen to me."

Wells slapped Jon on the back. "You better go, then. Roy, don't forget your HT."

"Right," Roy said curtly, grabbing the HT from Mac and leading Johnny and Jon into the hospital. Dr. Early greeted them, his face pinched with worry.

"Johnny, Roy, just what the hell is going on? Are Dix and Kel alright?"

Roy waved the old doctor off. "I don't know," he said impatiently, "I'll let you know what happens. There's just no time to explain everything."

The trio stepped into the elevator, waiting tensely to see Baker. Of the three, Jon was the most worried; He didn't know what to expect, not now. His belly felt as though it was exploding with butterflies, his mouth was dry, and his throat was tight. What would he say to his father?

The doors opened and two cops met them. The older cop gave the trio a skeptical look and then let them pass by.

"Mac told us to expect you. Just give us the go-ahead when you're ready, and be mindful of your actions. Anything could set that Twinkie off."

"That 'Twinkie' is my father," Jon muttered as he walked past the grumpy cop.

Roy walked in front of Jon and stopped at the office door at the end of the hall.

Jon gave the redhead an incredulous look. "Well?" he demanded, "Open the damn door! I've got a whole pile of shit to clear up."

Roy and Johnny gave one another nervous looks and then Roy glanced back at Jon.

"Please be polite to Baker. He doesn't take too kindly to smart mouths. I mean, that's why Brackett has a gun to his head."

Johnny smirked. "Yeah," he put in, "And Brackett isn't even the sassiest person in this hospital. So, unless you want your head blown off, you'd better do what Roy says."

Jon agreed reluctantly and then stepped forward.

"Alright, just let me in."

Roy held his breath and opened the door, stepping in ahead of Jon.

"Baker," Roy announced boldly, "Here's your son, Jonathan Arthur."

Baker stood up from his seat on the desk, his eyes wide with disbelief and his mouth struggling to stay closed. He stayed silent for the longest time, staring at whom who knew was his real son. This young man was his spitting image!

"Jonathan," he breathed, "Come hither."

Jon gave his father a quizzical look and cautiously approached him. Dixie's eyes never strayed from her son. She stared at him with a mixture of grief and pride in her eyes. Brackett seemed stunned as to how similar Jon and Derek looked. Both he and Dixie were speechless.

Baker impulsively hugged his long-lost son, his eyes misty with joy and sadness. Jon pulled away, a slight look of disgust and annoyance flashing across his face.

"I've been told about what you've done to my mother," Jon growled, "I want to speak with her."

Baker looked furious. "No," he said firmly, "Your mother was the one who gave you up. I wished no such fate upon you and yet you want to speak with her? The woman who betrayed you the life you deserved? A life as my son? You're raving mad!"

Jon scoffed. "I thought that way at first," he admitted, "But now I'm convinced that my mother made the right decision, and I want her to know that. Where is she?"

Brackett stepped away from Dixie and motioned his head towards her. "She's right here, Jon." he said.

Jon turned and looked at the short, ash-blonde woman who sat in the office chair in front of him. She looked stressed well beyond her years, but at the same time, she looked peaceful. She said nothing to him, but her eyes glistened with oncoming tears. Jon walked forward and caught her, comforting her. Dixie wrapped her arms around him and stood up, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry," was all she could say, over and over again.

Brackett glanced over at Roy and Johnny and approached them. "Was it hard to find him?" he asked in a low voice. Roy shrugged. "We found him, and you and Dix are still alive, that's all that counts." he murmured softly.

Suddenly, Baker grabbed Jon's shoulder and pulled him away from Dixie.

"Jon," he snapped, "You must forget about her. She gave you up and has no right to you now."

"If that's the case, then neither do you. You're the reason mom gave me up! What do you want from me, anyhow?" Jon demanded harshly.

Baker inhaled deeply and stood up straight, looking down at his son.

"I want you to come with me. As you may know, I'm very well off and could offer you all the things you need, all the things you had to live without, because of what your mother did to you."

Jon backed away. "My childhood was just fine!" he retorted, "I need nothing from you, nor do I want anything from you."

Baker pursed his lips in fury and grabbed his revolver, pulling the hammer back and aiming it right at Dixie.

"No!" Jon shouted, shielding Dixie from the barrel of the gun. Roy, Johnny, and Brackett were all ready to leap into action, but were extremely relieved that Jon stepped in front of Dixie.

"Don't you dare harm her!" he warned.

"Come with me, Jonathan," Baker said in a low growl, "Or I will kill your mother."

Brackett scowled and stepped forward, ready to punch Baker out. Roy held him back as the doctor yelled at him, "You hurt her and I'll tear out your innards and feed 'em to the buzzards, you goddamnned son of a bitch!"

Dixie just sat in her chair, worn out and emotionally exhausted. "Kill me if you must, Derek. Just make it quick." she sighed.

Jon waved his hands for silence. "No," he barked, "No one is going to die. But, Dad, even if I wanted to go with you, I couldn't. Not after what you've done, anyhow. You have to go to jail for the crimes you've committed; there's no two ways about it."

Baker looked desperate now.

"But…but Jonathan," he said hastily, not listening to his son. "You'd come with me, wouldn't you? You would if I asked you to, wouldn't you? You'd visit me in jail…?"

Jon huffed and blinked. God, his father was difficult! "If it means my mother's life is spared, yes, I'd go with you. I'd visit you in jail."

Baker put his arms up and dropped them down in defeat. "I need to leave, I need to get out of here…but I can't. I'm stuck." by this point, it seemed like Baker was speaking his thoughts aloud.

"I need to finish what I started…" Baker said ever so slowly, his eyes wild as he raised his revolver, pointing it towards Brackett and the paramedics.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Jon grabbed his father's arm, lowering the gun. "Dad, dad," he stammered, "Please, come with me to the police. Turn yourself in. Confess to everything. Please don't make this any harder on yourself!"

Baker stared into his son's eyes for the longest time. What would become of him, were Baker to go to jail? Would he ever see him again? Surely not. Jon would never visit his no-account father. Dixie would marry the man she wanted all along and Baker would be saddled with life in prison for murder if not lethal injection. Alas, if these horrible things were to occur should Baker go to jail, his quest for revenge had been in vain. What was he to do? Then it hit him.

Baker nodded and put his arm around his son.

"Fine," he agreed, "I'll offer my hands forth to be shackled, if that's what you want of me."

Jon grinned with delight, although the paramedics and Brackett looked rather unconvinced, as they had a right to be.

"But," Baker said, pausing in his steps, "There's something I have to do first-"

With those words, Baker turned around and aimed his gun directly at Dixie, who looked horrified.

"This is for taking my son away from me," he practically screamed. Jon tried to grapple for his father, but couldn't reach him in time. The following events all occurred in a flash; Dixie squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for her husband's bullet. A shot rang out and Dixie felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw Kelly fall down in front of her, holding his right shoulder. Jon then tackled Baker and tried to wrestle the gun away from him.

Roy scrambled with the HT, ready to call in the cops, while Johnny ran forward to see how badly hurt Brackett was. Silly, ass! Taking the bullet for his fiancé, what a typical thing for him to do, thought Johnny, who was mildly upset, to say the least.

Jon grabbed Baker's arm in which he held the gun, while struggling to choke him at the same time. Baker punched his son out, now taking aim at Jon. Jon regained himself, lurching forward and slamming Baker back into the picture window. Baker's air was momentarily knocked from his body, and the gun flew from his hands, landing on the carpeted office floor with a soft thud.

Brackett shoved Johnny and Dixie away and jumped for the gun, grabbing it with his able hand and standing on one knee.

By this time, Baker had both his hands around his son's neck, slowing killing him.

"Let him go, dammit!" Brackett shouted, pointing the gun at Baker, who failed to cease in his efforts.

"Don't make me kill you," Brackett pleaded, blood from his bullet wound slowly starting to stain his shirt. "For the love of God, Derek, let him go! He's your son!"

Dixie screamed as she saw the deep shade of red that consumed Jon's face.

Brackett let out an agitated scoff before pulling the hammer back on the revolver and shooting Baker in the chest. Baker dropped his son and his eyes went round with shock. He flew backwards into the window and stood there, leaning against the glass and holding his chest. He tried to move forward to make a last attempt on his son's life, but Brackett fired again, sending a shot hurtling right through Baker's chest cavity. The glass behind him was shattered by the bullet and Baker fell backwards out of the building, plunging God knows how many floors downwards until his limp body slammed on top of an ambulance with a sickening thunk.

Brackett sat on the floor, looking utterly empty, while Dixie ran towards her son.

Johnny and Roy helped Brackett onto a chair as the cops broke into the office.

They whipped their heads back and forth, guns ready and scanning the room for Baker.

"Where'd he go?" one of them asked.

Roy gestured towards the busted window, and the cops ran over to the frame, looked down at Baker's twisted, broken body, floors below them. One of the officers muttered a dirty word and then stormed out to the hall, most likely going retrieve Baker's body.

"God damn," Officer Pete Malloy swore, looking down at the corpse. "Someone's good with a gun."

He adjusted the hat on his head as he glanced over at Dr. Brackett. The young doctor huffed and glared at Malloy.

"It's not something I'm proud of, I'll tell you that right now," he snapped.

Malloy nodded; "I know how you feel," he murmured. "I hate taking a human life…but sometimes there's just no other way."

Dixie sat with Jon, one arm around him and the other hand stroking the hair away from his face. "Forgive me," she begged, tears streaking down her face, "Forgive me Jon…for all the terrible things I've put you through."

Jon was taken aback by his mother's behavior. He hugged her and patted her back.

"It's not your fault," he assured her, "Not any of this. Baker is to blame for the misery any of us had to endure. But I want you to know that I'm happy with the choices you made. I now know that I never could have lived with Baker as a father to me. His brother was always good to me, and to be honest, I couldn't have asked for a better upbringing."

Dixie smiled weakly at her son and then continued to cry, but this time, her tears were that of joy. Joy for finally seeing her much-missed son, for hearing his forgiveness, for seeing the end of her abusive husband. Dixie felt guilty about Derek's death; she loved him very much at one time, and it made her heart sink to know that the father of her son was dead. But she knew that all was for the best, if nothing else.

Then, with a start, she remembered Kelly. She got up and ran to him, grabbing his face and kissing him several times.

"Oh my God, Kel," she said quickly, "I'm so sorry. Please, don't ever do that again!"

Brackett laughed incredulously. "Well I hope that I don't ever see a gun pointed at you again! Got anymore crazy ex-husbands?"

Dixie brushed his hair back and tilted her head in sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to go through all of this…I..I…"

Dr. Brackett shook his head. "Dix," he started, "Just forget about this, for now at least. What's happened has happened and there's no use going over it again. I knew what I was getting into when I asked you to marry me."

Dixie gave him a harsh look. "Shut up, you did not."

Brackett cast a sideways glance and shrugged with his good shoulder. "Okay, not entirely," he confessed, "But…OW! Easy Johnny! What are you trying to do, send me into shock?"

Johnny frowned at the doctor as he and Roy bandaged his shoulder. "Whoever said that doctors were terrible patients was right," he grumbled, "I'm not even pressing that hard."

Roy smirked. "Wait till Dr. Early gets a load of this whole story."

Dr. Brackett whipped his head around to give Roy a warning look.

"You better not tell him about this. If he finds out, I'll never hear the end of it. It'll be break-room lore for six months or more. No, I'd rather hear about which nurse is wearing what scandalous haircut. I don't need to beleaguered by Joe, no way."

Dixie rolled her eyes. "You know Joe's going to find out sooner or later."

"And it sounds more like sooner than later," an all-too familiar voice said from the doorway.

"Damn," Brackett murmured angrily.

Dr. Joe Early walked up to Dr. Brackett and squatted down, a rather smug look plastered across his jovial face.

"Well," he said jeeringly, "I believe I warned you not to hire Johnny and Roy as your private investigators. Look at you!"

Brackett raised his brow.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded outrageously, "It worked, didn't it?"

Early snorted. "Oh yeah, it worked," he mocked, "You only got yourself shot up. No big deal."

Brackett sighed and turned away.

"It's just in the shoulder. Nothing a little good doctoring won't take care of."

Early nodded. "I believe you, Kel," he said, "But you won't be singing any victory songs when you get your head blown off."

Brackett gave his colleague a frustrated look.

"Oh, would you buzz off?" he said, trying to sound serious, "You sound like my mother!"

Early cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, if me giving you good advice is what dead people sound like."

Johnny and Roy exchanged grins of amusement while Dixie shook her head in defeat.

"If I had both my hands, I'd-"

"Ha, well you don't! you know why that is, don't you? Because you didn't listen to me!"

"Why you-" Dr. Brackett pursed his lips and jumped to his feet, running after Dr. Early, who raced out of the office and down the hall to the elevator.

"Hey Doc!" Johnny called, "You shouldn't be moving around! You could lose more blood than you already have!"

"Doc?" Roy shouted in vain, "Johnny's right!" he then added in a low mutter, "For once,"

Johnny heard that muttered remark and gave his partner a dirty look. Roy knew he was in for it and ran after Brackett and Early. Johnny chased him.

"Whaddaya mean, 'For once'? I'm always right, aren't I?" Johnny argued.

Dixie and Jon watched as the office slowly cleared out and they had it to themselves. Without a word, Jon hugged his mother and they sat there, alone and speechless, but undeniably happy to be together at last.

Stay tuned for epilogue….


	17. Chapter 17

Epilogue

Johnny closed the card and chuckled softly to himself. "Aww," he said sarcastically, "Isn't that nice? We get an invitation to you and Brackett's wedding and an invite to Jon's academy graduation ceremony, both on the same day."

Dixie gave a noncommittal grunt from her place behind the head nurse's desk.

"It's very thoughtful indeed," Roy agreed, "But which one should we go to?"

"Why not both?" Dr. Brackett asked, sipping from his cup of Dr. Morton's bitter coffee. Johnny glanced up at the young doctor.

"Whale," he replied simply, "They're both on the exact same day at the exact same time. I'd say that makes it a tad bit inconvenient, don't you?"

Brackett nodded. "Yeah, I'd say."

Dixie rolled her eyes in frustration and snatched the card out of Johnny's hand.

"Well," she started, "I'd say that if either Johnny, Roy, or even you Kel, had taken the time to actually read the invitations that I worked so hard on printing up, that maybe, just maybe you'd have noticed that the our wedding reception and Jon's graduation reception are taking place at the same location!"

Roy frowned and Johnny grabbed the invitation back, actually studying it this time. Dr. Brackett paused mid-sip from his cup of coffee and gave Dixie a guilty look.

"I went through a lot of trouble to arrange it so Jon could celebrate his graduation with us," Dixie said defensively.

Roy closed the card and patted it against his hand while Dr. Brackett shrugged.

"No, I believe you. It's just I mean, well…invitations are very-if you think about it-"

"What I think the Doc is trying to say-" Johnny tried to put in.

"Is that nobody ever reads those damn things anyway!" Dr. Early added loudly.

Dixie shot him the most put-out look she could muster, but Early just laughed.

Dixie leaned forward and yanked the card once again from Roy's hands. She then lifted it up and pointed it towards Early.

"You," she said bluntly, referring to the old doctor.

Early looked the slightest bit perturbed.

Dixie cocked an eyebrow. "You know where this is going to go, now that you said that."

Early quickly put his coffee down and rushed for one of the treatment rooms.

Dixie jumped down off her stool and ran after him with the card.

"Yeah, run, Joe!" she shouted, "You're going to need a treatment room when I'm done with you!"

Dr. Brackett just continued sipping his coffee as Roy gave him a mild look.

"Congratulations to you two," Roy said wryly.

"I'm so happy for you and Dix," Johnny added cleverly.

Dr. Brackett snorted. "I am too."

There was an awkward silence and then Roy and Brackett burst out laughing.

"I better go get the bride, before she murders the best man," Brackett digressed, putting his coffee down and walking off.

After he left, Johnny leaned towards Roy.

"Hey, Roy?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"What was Dixie going to do with that invitation?"

Roy paused for a long time and then gave Johnny an angry look.

"I reckon she was going to uninvite Dr. Early."

"Ohhhh…" Johnny said, acting like he understood.

Roy snickered and grabbed the drug box. "Come on pard, we better get going."

With that, Johnny and Roy walked back out to the squad car, ready to face the rest of the day and whatever came with it.

The End.

You're probably wondering what I'm going to do next, but honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


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